With the April 4 election approaching, the Wellsville-Middletown R-I School District wanted its community members to be well informed about the $1.9 million no tax increase bond issue it is placing in the ballot.

The district held the first of its two town hall meetings at the Middletown Community Center on the evening of March 16. A total of 19 people attended the one-hour event.
The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 30 at the W-M school library. A tour of the school building will be offered.

The school district is asking voters to approve the bond issue that will help pay for improvements at the elementary and high schools. The projects include new metal siding, metal roof, gutters, new insulation and secure entry renovation for the elementary school and asbestos flooring removal, new flooring and kitchen equipment for the high school. The school district also wants to add welding booths with exhaust at the school’s ag shop for ventilation.

“It’s good for our students and our teachers to be able to work in a facility that has things in place,” W-M Superintendent Dr. Erin Oligschlaeger said.

The project at the elementary school will cost between $900,000 and $1 million. The high school project will cost over $600,000. There is also a project on the school’s parking lots that will cost between $250,000-$270,000.

“A huge portion of the project will focus on the elementary building,” said Oligschlaeger, who has been the district’s superintendent since 2020. “All of the tin on that building, including the siding roof, needs to be replaced. The insulation has come down in that building. So when you’re looking at the energy efficiency of your building, your heating and cooling without insulation in that tin building does not lead to the energy efficiency your building should have.”

The bond issue is called Proposition K.I.D.S., which was created by the W-M School Board. The acronym stands for Keep Improving District Schools. The committee includes former school board members Mike Henderson, who is the chairman, and Christine DeTienne, who is the treasurer. Jessica Penn and Kelsey Brennan, both parents, are creators of a Facebook page that will include news on the project.

Henderson, who has two of his children attending the high school, said it is important that the improvements be made so the students can be safe. W-M has about 320 students from kindergarten to high school.

“If we didn’t take care of the building, where would the kids go to school?” Henderson said.