GREENFIELD — Greenfield-Central expects to bond up to $12 million and use the funds to renovate parts of the district’s eight buildings over the next few years, the superintendent says.
The Greenfield-Central School Board recently approved the hiring of J. Lake Architecture and Design as the criteria developer and construction administrator for the project. Greenfield-Central has agreed to pay the Jeffersonville-based firm at least $149,000, from bond proceeds, to oversee design and construction.
Over the past several months, the district’s administrative team and school board have worked to come up with a list of potential renovation projects. The corporation hopes to upgrade school security at a few buildings, expand programming areas at Greenfield-Central High School and also update mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems at each school building, superintendent Harold Olin has previously said.
School security upgrades is at the top of the district’s wish list, Olin said. That will most likely include installing a secured entryway at Weston Elementary School and updating Greenfield Central Junior High School’s security cameras to a high-definition system that feeds to local law enforcement agencies.
Other potential projects include new building roofs, chillers, pumps, HVAC control systems and various mechanical upgrades that will improve energy efficiency.
The $12 million bond would replace past bonds and keep the district debt neutral, Olin said. The corporation’s total debt service has dropped over the past five years, from $11 million to about $9 million in 2019. Indiana schools have to keep bond costs lower than $15 million in order to avoid remonstrance.
G-C officials will next work with the architecture firm to develop a list of specific projects and move forward on design, Olin said. Construction could begin in late summer or early fall.
