Johnston School Board Eyes Land Purchase for High School Site

Piece by piece the  makes progress on future facilities.

The board will review a resolution at tonight's meeting for the purchase of 125 acres to be used as the site of a new high school.

The land, west of Northwest 100th Street and north of Northwest 62nd Avenue, will sell for $46,000 per acre for a price tag of about $5.75 million.

Per the agreement, the closing date on the purchase will be by Dec. 29.

It is the administration's recommendation to accept the offer and purchase the land.

During the , the board approved a measure to proceed with the construction of a new tenth- to 12th-grade high school.

The construction of the 325,000-square-foot high school is expected to cost about $72 to $75 million. The repurposing of the high school to house middle school students and the renovations needed to move students from Wallace Elementary to the current middle school is estimated between $18 and $21.5 million. The estimates do not include any renovations to the current Wallace building.

Other items on the agenda include:

• A review of the fiscal year 2011 audit by Melanie Meyer from Van Maanen, Sietstra, & Meyer.

• Discussion and approval of a technology strategic plan.

• Discussion and approval of additional opportunities for students to demonstrate proficiency in order to take concurrent and other college courses.

The board meets at 6 p.m. at the Administrative Resource Center.