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Central school board mulling future of Ekstrand, Welton school buildings

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By Steven Martens | Wednesday, December 21, 2005 12:32 AM CST | () comments

DeWITT, Iowa — The Central Community School District still is trying to decide what to do with its two elementary school buildings — the Welton building closed last summer due to budget constraints and Ekstrand Elementary, which is dealing with a space crunch due in part to the former Welton students who now go there.

Superintendent Carol Hansen said the board rejected a proposal from the City of Welton that would have called for the district to demolish the 85-year-old building and sell the land to the city for $1.

Instead, the district is going to explore the costs of demolishing everything except the gymnasium, which the district would keep for district and community use, Hansen said. The district also is considering selling two pieces of the land.

The board also discussed the proposed first phase of a facilities expansion and renovation plan Saturday at a rescheduled board meeting0, but was unable to come to a consensus on what should be done with Ekstrand Elementary School in DeWitt.

The proposed Phase 1 includes the addition of five classrooms to Ekstrand and the addition of five classrooms and a weight room at Central Community High School. That phase of the project would cost $3.2 million, to be funded through existing and future local-option sales-tax funds. Plans call for construction to begin in July 2006 and be completed by August 2007.

While board members agreed to go ahead with the high school part of the project, they could not decide how to proceed at Ekstrand. At a meeting last week, board members debated whether temporary classrooms could be added to address the space problems at Ekstrand until 2010, when the district will be debt-free and could seek public support for a bond referendum to build a new school.

Ekstrand had 434 students last year, and district officials were expecting 592 students this year with the addition of the students from Welton. Instead, enrollment at Ekstrand has reached 639, with two more students expected to enroll in January.

At a special meeting on the facilities plan Thursday, some parents said they did not want the school to have that many students permanently, citing concerns about traffic in the area.

The proposal does not address other space concerns at Ekstrand, which needs more space for physical education, art and music classes, and the crowded cafeteria.

“There is no perfect plan,” Ekstrand Principal Linda Reysack said. “No matter what the board decides, there are still going to be issues with space at Ekstrand.”

The board will address the issue again at its Jan. 16 meeting.

Steven Martens can be contacted at

(563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.