| By Bob Weaver
Calhoun Superintendent of Schools Roger Propst said last night that the centerpieces of the county's 10-year facilities improvement plan is the building of a new Arnoldsburg elementary school out of the flood plain and the construction of a gymnasium at Pleasant Hill Elementary.
 Propst (pictured left), members of the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan [CEFP] committee, school officials, community members and representatives of the architectural firm of Williamson and Shiver, participated in the public forum.
Propst said the 10 year-plan includes other improvements to county school facilities, with a final public hearing to be scheduled before the plan is presented to the local school board.
Administrator Carla Taylor said the plan will likely include the reconfiguration of pre-kindergarten to grade 5, grade 5 being returned to the county's two elementary schools.
Propst said the only way the county will get state funds (School Building Authority) for the $9 million Arnoldsburg school project is for county residents to renew a bond.
A 15-year $3,300,000 bond passed by county voters for additional improvements at Calhoun Middle-High School will expire in 2012.
"If we don't have a bond in place for the construction, I will not ask for increased taxes for the school," Propst said.
The School Building Authority is very much aware of the flood plain problem at Arnoldsburg, weighing the costs of repairs vs. the costs of a new school, Propst said.
Propst said if the plan moves ahead, site recommendations will be considered at that time.
"It will totally be up to the public whether they want a new Arnoldsburg school," he continued, referring to the renewal of a bond.
Propst says for several months, Calhoun County's CEFP committee has been working on the plan, encompassing all schools for the 2011-2020 decade.
Pleasant Hill School's sanitation plant also needs replaced along with other improvements to the buildings and grounds.
Calhoun-Middle High will need roof replacement and mechanical systems upgraded during the 10-year period.
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