The Ocean City Board of Education invites all members of the public to a presentation Wednesday on the March 11 special school election.
The election will include only one question: Will Ocean City voters approve the borrowing of $2,497,421 to help pay for a renovation of the Ocean City Primary School? The school was built in 1965.
The presentation starts at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Community Room at Ocean City High School (entrance off the beach block of Sixth Street).
Board of Education member Ray Clark, who heads a public relations subcommittee, said the district has made presentations to various community groups who have asked for more information. The district now wants to reach out to anybody else in the community interested in learning more about the project.
“We wanted to allow the public to ask some questions and get some answers,” Clark said.
Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, Facilities Manager A.J. Nordt, School Business Administrator Pat Yacovelli and school board members will be on hand to provide information.
The district has the opportunity to recover 40 percent of the project cost through a state grant and to obtain historically low interest rates.
“You have to take advantage of that,” Clark said.
The total projected cost for the project is $5,998,198. With the state paying $2.4 million and the district contributing about $1.1 million from a capital reserve fund, voters will be asked to fund the remaining $2.5 million through a bond issue.
The election will be 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 11. The project is planned for summer 2015.
The school needs a new roof, heating and cooling systems, plumbing and electrical systems, windows and doors. Most classrooms have no air-conditioning, and some of the windows are 48-year-old originals, single-glazed and lined with asbestos.
“Our goal is to make the school safer and healthier,” Clark said. “Promote a better learning environment.”
