By VICKI URBANIK

Signaling what could be the start of new school construction proposals, the Duneland School Board on Monday acquired 26 acres on the west side of the Liberty Schools on C.R. 900 North.

The purchase price is $350,000, below the appraised value of $390,000, said school board attorney Michael Harris.

Duneland Superintendent Dirk Baer said the property could be a good site for a new school, given its proximity to Liberty Elementary and Intermediate schools. He also pointed out that Liberty Township is experiencing rapid growth.

Baer said the school board continues to review other properties for potential new school sites and that Monday’s land acquisition decision may not be the last.

Growing school enrollments in recent years have prompted school officials to speculate about the possible need for new school construction. Several recent school board executive sessions have included land acquisition as a topic.

In the current school year, Duneland saw its enrollment climb by about 190 students.

Of the Liberty Township parcel, Harris said Duneland will need to put down $25,000 as earnest money and then will be given the time needed to analyze the soil suitability. He said the property is currently being farmed.

The property is being bought from Donald Coker, an area developer who will retain the right of a 40-foot easement across the front of the property needed to accommodate a driveway on an adjoining parcel. Harris said the 40-foot section will not interfere with the school’s needs for the property.

Brummit Parking

Also Monday, the school board approved a $194,000 bid from Berglund Construction to expand the parking lot at Brummitt Elementary School on the east side of the school.

The enlarged parking lot will boost the number of parking spaces from about 100 to 170, said architect Bob Gerometta.

The expanded lot will be located at the site of the former treatment plant, which is in the process of being demolished. The lot construction will save a few large, picturesque trees and will be buffered with existing vegetation. In addition, county officials have granted access onto Brummitt Road.

Duneland Director of Special Services Mark McKibben said that expanding the Brummit School parking lot was planned for the year that Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy before the bankruptcy caused a fiscal crisis for the schools.

He pointed out that Brummit was built in the 1970s, a time when most families had only one vehicle. Nowdays, the parking for school functions tends to spill over onto area roads. That should be alleviated with the expanded parking lot, he said.

Jackson Presentation

Jackson Elementary School fourth graders gave the school board two presentations Monday.

The first showcased the students’ ink-blot poetry works, in which the students created an abstract design then wrote a poem based on the image. Jackson Principal Linda Rugg noted that the ISTEP tests include poetry, even though poetry is not that prominent an area of study in the schools.

The students who shared their art work and poems were Taylor Graham, Lucas Heim, Luke Lesar, Olvia White and Kaitlin Wilke.

Four other Jackson students also gave a presentation about “Question and Answer Research.” The students discussed how some questions have answers that can be readily found in one sentence, while others require answers that piece together facts found in different texts. The students who gave this presentation were Rachel Vogie, Dax Jones, Brianna Stephan and Christopher Krause

Posted 5/8/2007