The controversy over a bond for the Shepherd School District has become personal, stepping over legal lines with the posting of Vote No signs without property owner permission. The amount of misinformation on both sides is causing more confusion than clarification. On May 7 the votes will be in on the matter but for now, information and so-called facts continue to vary widely.
While there are several voices of discontent over the Shepherd School Bond, one voice is loud and clear. That is the voice of Shepherd local, Vic Feuerstein. He maintains that the facts are not straight concerning this bond and that the school administration and planning architects have been evasive and even deceptive regarding facts and the purposing of the bond funds, questioning the actual motivation behind the bond and whether or not it really has the kids’ best interest at heart.
During a meeting with Feuerstein and Shepherd School Superintendent, Scott Carter, Feuerstein outlined his concerns.
Feuerstein stated that there is no emergency lighting in the Elementary School halls, and is concerned this will not be addressed by the bond. There acutally are some wall mount emergency lights in the building. After checking further on the issue it was discovered there is a budget proposed for both power and lighting upgrades in the existing elementary building.
Another concern brought up is the asbestos. Feuerstein has a lifetime of experience in the field as an industrial hygienist. Based on his experience, he is concerned that there will not be adequate funding to deal with unforeseen problems. Collaborative Design states that all materials in the affected areas will be tested for asbestos and lead. Each area will be evaluated going forward to 1) redesign the plan to not disturb the materials, 2) design to leave the materials in place, 3) encapsulate the materials, or 4) have the materials mitigated by a professional contracting crew. There is a budget for testing and remediation included. Each area will be reviewed separately and if remediation is required, it will be paid for with the contingency budget.
There was also concern that the need for a new cafeteria is being used as an excuse for a new gym. The fact is, with the obvious need for food service expansion, the size of the new cafeteria has indeed been intentionally increased in square footage to allow it to be multi-purposed as a basketball court and allow for an increase in student population. The current need is to seat 350 kids for lunch and the planned space has the capacity to hold up to 550 kids to accommodate the growth of the school over the next 25 to 50 years. “No one wants to come back in five years and ask for another bond to increase the size of the lunch room,” Kanning stated. The ceiling of the cafeteria is the same height as the second floor ceiling..
There is community hesitancy over the current decision, which can still be overturned, by the School Board to opt out of a $250,000 oversight manager. The current plan is for the enacting architecture firm, Collaborative Design to provide oversight within their normal working hours on the project with no additional fees. The fees and reimbursables for this service typically run 1% to 3% of the bond cost which would be $179,000 – $537,000. This is perceived as a win by the Shepherd School Board. Feuerstein does not agree, stating it is the equivalent of having the “fox in the hen house.” Whether or not the architect is the “fox” is debatable as they are not the actual contractors for whom the oversight is intended.
Concern of an ongoing mold issue occurring within the middle school bathrooms was alleviated by the fact that this will be addressed outside the umbrella of the bond this coming summer. The mold will not be disturbed until school is out, to avoid any health threats that disturbing mold could pose. There is already a plan of action to fully resolve this issue before classes resume in the fall.
Community members expressed their concern that, as they understand it, the drain fields and septic system have been removed from the bond funding. The middle school drain field has had some surfacing issues and the school maintenance crew has asked that it be addressed with this bond issue. A new septic and drain field system is proposed for the expansion area. The elementary drain field has been recently replaced and the existing system will not be impacted.
When discussing the issue of whether or not the school bond contains a hidden sports agenda, Feuerstein says “It is a lie that there is no funding for sports in this bond.” His sentiment is stemming both from the new cafeteria and the relocation of the weight room and cardio room. These are being relocated on the current plan, to accommodate a more secure entrance to the High School. Until now the two physical education spaces have been separated and it has not been possible to engage in both cardio and weight training during class. The two spaces will be combined into a larger multi-use training space, allowing teachers to conduct complete P.E. classes. This space may also become accessible to the community outside of school hours with security limitations. The current weight room will be re-purposed to a wrestling space. Feuerstein maintains that this is an unnecessary expenditure and should be eliminated from the bond.
Discussion was had on of the impact of large amounts of glass proposed in the current plan, and the impact it will have on heating and cooling costs. Since the drawings are still in the concept stage, there is not enough information to run accurate heating and cooling loads. That level of detail will be completed in a later phase and presented to the school board, administration, staff and other stakeholders.
Scott Carter stated, “The important thing for the community to understand is that nothing is finalized yet.” The community is invited and encouraged to show up to meetings and send in their imput.” The vote is for the funding that has been professionally estimated to cover the basic needs of the school. This estimation was commissioned by Collaborative Design and it should be noted that they have a long-standing reputation of completing their projects under budget. Collaborative Design’s Jeff Kanning adds, “The plans are still in the concept stage and will be further developed with input from the Board, administration, staff and other stakeholders.”
The next scheduled community meeting will be held at Shepherd High School’s multi-purpose room on April 15 at 6:30pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring their questions and ideas. The vote for the funding of this bond will be final on May 7 at 8p.m. Ballots will be received via mail to registered voters and can be obtained via registration at the Yellowstone County Courthouse.
Another one sided article promoting the bond. Readers want to hear the rest of the story! Perhaps it’s too much to ask for any investigative journalism from such a small paper.
I grew up and graduated from Shepherd and went on to graduate from MSUB. I find Vic Feuerstein to be correct and yet this paper and everything else to be one sided. I think everyone should do their research before they vote for this bond. Honestly, sports ARE NOT a surrogate for the academics needed to survive in the real world. Adding a cardio room and more things for sports won’t up the Shepherd class, it’s not going to make teachers better, and it’s NOT going to help the school look good. The academics and teachers should be looked at rather than the sports. Shepherd is a not a rich town and the bond is only going to increase the taxes and drive people away from the town. As far as I am concerned, the only thing making this personal are the people who are just voting for it because they are part of the school or have certain promises to them.