The Noblesville Schools board of trustees on June 18 voted 5-1 in favor of advancing a $17.3 million general obligation bond proposal to fund upgrades throughout the district. A final vote on the bonds is expected to take place at the school board’s Aug. 20 meeting.
District CFO David Hortemiller said the bonds are set to fund new air handling units at Noblesville High School, a new athletic and storage building at Noblesville East Middle School, a new girls softball locker room and an iPad replacement plan for all students.
“With it being a multi-purpose bond, unlike the last two bonds, this bond will have multiple projects incorporated into the bond,” Hortemiller said. “The largest and the most complex of those projects is going to be the air handler unit replacement at the high school.”
The estimated cost for the HVAC project at the high school is $17.5 million. Only part of the project will be funded through the bond discussed at the meeting.
Kelley Bieghler, president and CEO of KBSO consulting presented her firm’s plans to replace the 23 air handlers at Noblesville High School, which would span three summers beginning in 2025. She noted health concerns with the existing units, including standing water and outdated energy controls still using floppy disk technology.
“The two big packages in 2025 are $6.7 (million) and $1.7 (million). The first package is more expensive because of the controls upgrade, which is global, which will impact all of the units over the course of the coming years,” Bieghler said.
At NEMS, Hortemiller said the current building used for ticketing and storage is “the gateway to East Middle School” and needs to be updated to provide more adequate restroom facilities for athletic events. If approved, construction on the project is expected to begin in 2025 at an estimated maximum cost of $2.7 million.
Another proposed project is a new girls softball locker room with an HVAC system so the facility can be used year-round, as well as adding public restrooms facilities. Construction would take place summer 2025 at an estimated cost of $1.8 million.
District paving projects totaling $2 million were discussed as part of the bond, including at Stony Creek Elementary School, Hazel Dell Elementary School and the district transportation center. Each of these projects would be completed in summer 2025.
The bond proposal also included funding for a multi-year iPad replacement plan to provide each student with a new iPad starting with the 3,400 NHS students in the 2025-26 school year at a cost of $2.3 million.
Board secretary Laura Alerding voted against the bond, requesting more information about costs, particularly for the softball facility.
The board unanimously approved a new Indiana College Core partnership with Indiana University Kokomo. This will provide students with more options for college credit classes and the opportunity to take classes on the campus in Kokomo for a reduced rate of $125 per credit hour. A Food2School purchasing cooperative was also unanimously approved.
The next regular meeting of the Noblesville School Board is set for 6 p.m. July 15.
