School Task Force pares list of options to 3

By Chuck Kajer

New Prague's School Building Task Force has narrowed down its choice of recommendations to three following a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 2. The group will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, and hope to make a recommendation either after that meeting or one on September 16.

Since a number of members were absent from the August 25 task force meeting, they reviewed the many options that had been considered at the previous meeting, and questions regarding the different options were also discussed.

School board member Tom Fadden asked if the district chose to build three elementary schools and add on to the high school, how long it would be before another bond issue would come up. Superintendent Frankie Poplau said that while things are always subject to change, they project the next need would be for a second middle school, to be built in New Market, with the question being asked possibly in 2010, according to current projections.

Greg Tikalsky asked when the district would come and ask for an additional operating levy to pay for operations of the new schools. Poplau said that, depending on enrollment figures and the level of state funding, they might not need to ask for an additional operating levy, since the added funding from the additional students might pay for the increased cost. If we decided we needed an operating levy