KPBSD adopts six-year project plan

  • By KAYLEE OSOWSKI
  • Tuesday, March 4, 2014 11:28pm
  • News

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education unanimously approved a six-year plan for improvement projects for fiscal years 2015 to 2021 at its Monday night meeting.

The district will submit the plan to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development in late August to seek funding for various maintenance and capital projects.

Projects on the wish list for fiscal year 2015 in order of priority include:

■ Kenai Middle School asbestos removal and office remodel priced at $7.5 million;

■ Homer High School re-roof with a $5.6 million price tag;

■ Kachemak Selo new school construction with a cost of $16 million;

■ Homer High fire alarm upgrade at $275,000;

■ Chapman Elementary School window and siding replacement priced at $500,000.

The next million dollar projects don’t make the list until 2019 with Ninilchik, Seward and Skyview High Schools’ tracks listed at $4 million and a $2 million turf field for Seward High School. The following year sees a $1 million parking and traffic upgrade for Mountain View Elementary and $16.5 million for phase three of a district-wide re-roofing project.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

However, Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD spokesperson, wrote in an email if next summer’s roofing projects are completed ahead of schedule and funding is still available, the district would be able to complete additional roofing projects and forgo phase three for 2020. She said when 2020 arrives, the district will look at all of its schools to determine if any maintenance is needed.

The board postponed action on the plan at its Feb. 3 meeting and discussed the plan during a work session prior to the board meeting on Monday.

Dave Tressler, director of the planning and operations department, presented the plan to the board at the work session.

Each project falls under a category from A to G, and projects toward the beginning of the alphabet are more likely to get funding, he said.

The Kenai Middle asbestos removal and office remodel is listed under the A category — health and safety. The problem stems from spray applied asbestos fire proofing material falling from the ceiling. The maintenance department has been removing loose asbestos as it occurs. According to the plan, the office needs to be reconfigured to allow for better visual surveillance of people entering and leaving the school.

He said projects also score better when preliminary drawings and other design and planning aspects are ready. Some of the projects on the district’s plan have preliminary plans ready, but getting some other plans to get to that point would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 14 in the George A. Navarre Administration Building in Soldotna.

Kaylee Osowski can be reached at kaylee.osowski@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Robert Weaver was last seen at the Doroshin Bay public use cabin on June 25, 2025. (Photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Kenai wildlife refuge seeking information on missing man

Robert Weaver was last seen near Skilak Lake on June 25.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team conducts a training mission in Seward, Alaska in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team
Anchor Point fundraiser to benefit Alaska rescue and recovery group

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization established in 2016.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic staff (left to right) Angie Holland, RN; Jane Rohr, Sonja Martin Young, CNM; Robin Holmes, MD; and Cherie Bole, CMA provide an array of reproductive and sexual health services. (Photo provided by KBFPC)
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula

The report pulls from data gathered from 2024 to early 2025.

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Traffic passes by South Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai drops effort to rename South Spruce Street

The resolution would have changed the name to make it clear which road led to North Kenai Beach

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy calls special session for August

Lawmakers on Wednesday said they were surprised by the move.

A makeshift coffin decrying the risks of Medicaid funding cuts is seen on Thursday, June 26, in front of the Blazy Mall in Soldotna. The cuts were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)
Ahead of Senate vote, Soldotna protesters defend Medicaid funding

Cuts to the program were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning.

Most Read