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Published:
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
By Karen Rouse
Denver Post Staff Writer
Since Fort Logan Elementary School was built
in 1923, it's had seven "rebuilds," said Jim Abrahamsen,
executive director of operations maintenance for the Sheridan
School District.
It is just one of the district's five buildings
that could use some extra work - from new heating systems
and alarm systems to replacing bathroom flooring and fixtures.
"We would appreciate any support we could
get from any place," says Superintendent Michael Poore,
who oversees the district of an estimated 1,860 students.
His schools aren't the only ones.
A recent Donnell-Kay Foundation survey found
that school officials believe it would take $5.7 billion
statewide to cover capital construction needs.
The Denver nonprofit last month completed
two surveys that attempt to gauge the extent of unmet capital
construction needs in the state's 178 public school districts,
said Mary Wickersham, director of special projects.
One survey was filled out by superintendents
and facility managers from 72 districts. Data from a second
survey, gathered through on-site visits at 16 schools across
the state, found $121.8 million in capital needs, said Wickersham.
The foundation estimates it would cost $13,790
per student, compared to the $268 currently provided, to
meet all the needs around the state.
Donnell-Kay is also pushing to have the state
legislature eventually create a system for assessing needs
at each of the state's 1,700 schools.
The survey found that the average facility
was built in 1967 of concrete masonry. Just under half have
air conditioning, and facility managers rated 37 percent
of their facilities as less than "good."
"We think the state needs to do a total
statewide assessment," said Wickersham, who is also
advocating for a change to the way Colorado funds school-building
construction and maintenance.
The current system, which is based on property
values, "is failing to meet the needs" of schools,
she said.
Districts can raise property taxes to pay
for construction projects. But because the levies are based
on property values, poorer districts can't raise as much
as their wealthier counterparts.
Blue-collar Sheridan, for example, could have
raised a maximum of $13,552 per student last year for construction.
Steamboat Springs, on the other hand, could have raised
$55,884 per student through bonding, according to Wickersham.
The figures are based on 2003-04 school-year data.
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