Board seeking more information on two middle school options

    The USD 443 Board of Education decided Monday to look further into the possibility of renovating Dodge City Middle School and converting Hennessey Hall into a second middle school, Superintendent Alan Cunningham said Tuesday.
    In addition, the board is seeking more information on renovating the current school or building a new one.
    Cunningham said the board has not settled on a timeline for a bond issue election for the project but will revisit that issue at the June 9 meeting.
    The school district is looking at ways to relieve overcrowding at the current middle school and had recently considered four options: Building a new school in addition to the current one; expanding and renovating the current school; remodeling Hennessey Hall, located on the St. Mary Complex grounds; or remodeling Comanche Intermediate Center. All four options contemplated keeping the current school open as well.
    But Cunningham said the board has narrowed that list down to two possibilities.
    "There was no action taken, but the consensus of the board was to pursue the option of renovating the current middle school and Hennessey Hall or renovating the current middle school and building a new second middle school," he said.
    In other business, the board:
    • Agreed to pay architectural firm GossenLivingston $15,500, plus up to $800 in reimbursable expenses, for studying ways to address needs at the middle school.
    • Approved 3 percent increases in the 2008-09 budget for salaries for classified employees, administrative staff and the superintendent.