Othello School Board makes plans for community forum

OTHELLO — Othello School District patrons will have a chance to ask questions about the upcoming construction bond proposal at the January 8 Othello School Board meeting. The board will meet in special session at 6 p.m. Jan. 8 in the cafeteria at Desert Oasis High School.

Board members will be answering any and all questions from district patrons about the bond. The special session is scheduled for an hour and will be followed by the regular board meeting.

In February district patrons will be asked to approve or reject a $61.41 million bond that would, if it passes, build a new elementary school and a new middle school, and expand and remodel Othello High School.

If it’s approved, property owners would pay an estimated 96 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. If the bond is approved, the owner of property worth $200,000 would pay $192 per year.

Building the new middle school and elementary school would be the first phase of the project. The high school project would follow.

The suggestion for a special meeting came from Jen Stevenson, sworn in as a board member at the beginning of Monday’s meeting. There have been a lot of opportunities to get information about the bond, Stevenson said, but “the more opportunities for the public that maybe haven’t been reached or who have other questions, is beneficial.”

Stevenson said she’s talked to district patrons who have questions about the school district that are unrelated to the bond proposal. The board should provide an opportunity for people to ask those questions as well, Stevenson said.

Board member Rob Simmons proposed the special meeting before the regular meeting, and Stevenson asked what would happen if there were more questions than could be answered in an hour. Simmons said the board could schedule a follow-up meeting if necessary.

In other business, Stevenson and Ken Johnson were sworn in as board members. Stevenson replaces Juan Garza, Johnson replaces Stewart Hilmes. Neither Hilmes nor Garza ran for reelection.

Simmons was elected as board president for 2018, after the new board members were sworn in. Board member Mike Garza was elected as vice-president, Tony Ashton as president pro tem, and Stevenson as legislative representative. Johnson was selected as WIAA representative.