FPS

Fremont Public Schools Bond Issue Update

Elementary School Projects

Fremont, Neb. – (Aug. 19, 2021) On September 14 the citizens of Fremont will have an opportunity to decide the fate of a $123 million, no tax levy increase, bond issue.  A major emphasis of the bond issue is being placed on pre-kindergarten through fourth grade elementary schools. The slate of projects includes renovating and updating two of the District’s seven elementary buildings, Milliken Park and Linden Elementaries, razing and rebuilding Washington Elementary and Howard Elementary on their current sites, and razing and rebuilding Clarmar Elementary on a new site in eastern Fremont. 

“The 1999 and 2010 bond issues primarily focused on secondary schools and providing space at the elementary levels – this bond issue provides the opportunity for our elementary buildings to play a little catch-up,” stated Mark Shepard superintendent of schools.  

In 1999, the community passed a bond issue that built the Middle School, created additional space with the science wing and middle gym at the High School, built Bell Field Elementary school, the first new school since Milliken Park opened in 1978, provided space for full day kindergarten and for the first time in history, providing air conditioning in the elementary classrooms.  

In 2010, the community passed a bond issue that moved the fifth graders out of the elementary schools into the newly developed Johnson Crossing Academic Center for grades five and six, which provided space for preschool programs, created a small addition to Clarmar Elementary and razed and rebuilt a large portion of Linden Elementary.  Classroom additions and additional commons space were also added at the High School.

“The bond issue the community will vote on through a mail-in ballot, over the next several weeks, provides the opportunity for our community to take a huge step forward and in particular for our pre-kindergarten through fourth grade buildings,” commented Sandi Proskovec, Board of Education President.  “When evaluated by the professionals, many of our buildings built in the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s fall short based on how well they accommodate student learning with current educational systems and the utilization of technology.”  The traditional building design of double classroom loaded corridors has not been utilized for elementary building construction for many years.  

The electrical systems to equip a classroom in the 1950’s through the early 70’s were basically an outlet in the front and rear of the classroom to accommodate a film projector, overhead projector, a fan and a vacuum for cleaning.  The first personal computers began showing up in classrooms in the mid 80’s, and today all 5,000 Fremont Public School students have access to a computer device throughout the day. 

Modern school designs have space for students to gather in small and large groups as well as classrooms designed and equipped for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) hands-on learning.  Bell Field, the District’s newest elementary school, was constructed in the early 2000’s and has many of the modern school design features built in.  BVH Architects is taking the design features from Bell Field that teachers and administrators have noted work extremely well and is building them into the district’s design for the three new buildings. The footprint and capacity of the new elementaries will be enlarged to accommodate four classrooms for each grade level, allowing for greater efficiencies for staffing, special programming, food service and transportation.

The current plan calls for Washington and Howard’s new buildings to be built on their current sites, where play fields currently exist.  Upon completion, the current buildings will be removed and the sites restored for playgrounds and play fields. Linden Elementary will receive additional classrooms allowing for the 1950’s addition to be removed, making Linden’s oldest portion of the building at the same age as Bell Field.  Milliken Park, a 1978 “open space” design, will have separation walls inserted and a new HVAC system to meet current safety, security and indoor air quality standards. 

When Bell Field was built there were a handful of schools across the state that utilized ground source geo-thermal wells for their HVAC systems.  Since then many schools have incorporated this as the technology has been further developed and implemented.  Johnson Crossing, the District’s newest building constructed in 2010, incorporates this technology. BVH and Morrissey Engineering will be designing geo-thermal technology and LED lighting into their plans to allow the District to achieve energy efficiency with a simple payback.  The new technology being implemented will replace conventional boiler heat and electric roof top units for cooling and air exchange.  The new elementary buildings will be designed to be close to energy neutral, while adding additional square footage.  This not only helps the district’s operating budget, it does not burden our community’s energy availability.

Grant Elementary, which has received attention during the two previous bond issues, is not scheduled to be part of this project. “Grant has been a challenge for many years in that it is located in very close proximity to Howard and has over the past 20 years not housed many students,” Shepard stated. “Our current plan anticipates keeping it open to continue to serve the Grant neighborhood and accommodate student growth and special programs within the community,” Shepard added. “Grant students, parents and families have expressed concerns about the site’s future; they love their small, inviting neighborhood school and want it to continue to serve their families. At this point, there are no plans to do anything different than that,” stated Kevin Eairleywine, Executive Director for Human Resources and Elementary Operations.

Ballots will be mailed out on August 24 and are due back in the County Clerk’s office no later than 5:00 pm on September 14.

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The mission statement of the Fremont Public Schools is to produce creative, adaptable, productive citizens committed to lifelong learning.