Feedback wanted on what to do with old middle school

     The question of what to do with the old Monticello Middle School has reached a key point.

     “This is kind of a pivotal fork in the road for us,” Jaeger said during an Oct. 20 interview. “I know that our board is very adamant about making a decision that is the will of the community.”

     To that end, Jaeger has asked Monticello School Board members to contact people and get some preliminary feedback that would be brought back to the Oct. 26 school board meeting (see related story elsewhere in this issue of the Express).

     Also, Jaeger asked the board members to bring him a list of about 10 people. That would give him at least 50 names, and he would add some more.           

     Jaeger’s plan is to make a video explaining the district’s options for the old building, then give all those people a week or so to think about them.

     Finally, he plans to set up a virtual meeting, that anyone could attend, to offer feedback and ideas for the structure.

     “It’s going to be like a forum,” Jaeger said. “If anyone would like to be (part of) this, they can email me.”

     Previously, OPN Architects had presented the board with a plan of tearing down the classroom portion of the building but keeping the large gym, locker rooms, band and choir rooms, and storage area in the “new” part of the building.

     With a price tag of $4.5 million to $5 million to pursue these, which would deplete the SAVE account, Jaeger wondered at the Oct. 14 school board meeting if the district should consider less expensive options.

     “Three weeks ago, I would have said, ‘Let’s do this thing,’ ” Jaeger said during last week’s interview. “When the real price came back, it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s a little more than I thought it was going to be.’ ”

     Jaeger said that while he is keeping an open mind to ideas, spending that amount to remodel part of the building might affect other projects the district is considering, such as a new transportation center, solar power, a marquee, and a walking path around the building.

     “If we’re going to do things like that, we can’t spend all of the money from our SAVE account into one shot,” he said.

     He received a list of remodeling options from Katie Harms of OPN, keeping or tossing various aspects of the proposed work. Those varied in price from $1.74 million to $3.5 million.

     The least expensive option, at $1.34 million, was demolition of the entire building, with site grading, topsoil replacement and seeding included.

     Also offered, by Piper Sandler (the former Piper Jaffray), were options for financing of a project for the old middle school, but Jaeger said those might affect the district’s long-range hopes of getting another bond passed for a new elementary school.

     “None of those is a good option,” Jaeger said. “If you have to push the elementary school back even one or two days, it’s not worth it. We have to keep our eye on the long game here.”