The Bayfield School Board unanimously approved the bond issue request at its meeting on Aug. 23.
Another 15 to 20 registered voters in Archuleta County who reside in the school district can vote on the issue, as well.
If passed, the bond will be used to construct a new elementary school for third through fifth grades near Bayfield Middle School.
It also would pay for traffic circulation improvements at Bayfield Middle School. These two projects would cost $27.3 million.
Renovation and additions at the current Bayfield Elementary will cost $8.4 million. That also will include traffic improvements.
Another $850,000 would be used for a 2,000-square-foot addition and renovations at the district administration office.
The district has received a state Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant that will pay $8.568 million of the total $37.2 million cost, or about 25 percent, providing voters approve the local share of $28.6 million. That’s like a 25-percent off sale on building a new school, explained Amy Lyons, the district’s finance director.
Parents of students at the elementary and primary school campuses have been supportive of the project, Lyons said. The original primary school was built in 1925 and has had numerous additions over the years. Both the primary and elementary schools are overcrowded and face significant safety issues, according to the district. Of all the grant applicants for this year’s BEST grant, the primary school building was named the highest priority project in the state, to get kindergarteners and first graders moved out of there to the renovated elementary school.
The school board will next meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the administration building at 24 Clover Drive.
