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HARTINGTON — Randolph area residents may soon be seeing construction crews scurrying around the Randolph school complex.
School District patrons overwhelmingly approved a school improvement in a special election Tuesday.
The bond issue was approved by a 429-291 vote with 64 percent of eligible voters submitting ballots.
At the general election last November, the school bond issue failed by only eight votes and school board members got to work immediately to re-evaluate the project and cut some expenditures from it.
Modifications made to the scope of facility improvements and leveraging money in the district’s special building fund shed $1 million from the previous bond proposal.
Randolph School Supt. Daryl Schrunk said he was “very appreciative of all those who spent so much time over the past five years to help make this possible.”
He was glad to see voters show their support for the school and the community.
“I believe this project is great for the future of Randolph Public Schools and the community of Randolph,” he said. “We have a lot of work to still do and I am excited to be leading the next steps seeing the project to completion.”
The special election gave voters a chance to decide on an $8.75 million project which includes a scaled-down version of the new Career Technical Education/Ag building from 13,000 square feet to 9,680 square feet. Additional space for the art program and a mezzanine was dropped from the original plan.
Roof repairs slated at the high school were taken out of the bond proposal, instead funded through the district’s special building fund and completed this summer. That leaves the high school gym air conditioning project on the bond.
No changes were made in the improvements planned at the elementary building, estimated at nearly $4.9 million.
Proposed improvements include replacing the original HVAC boiler system, electrical and lighting upgrades, renovating restrooms, improving front door security, and constructing a new warming/serving kitchen addition.
