Area voters gave Columbia Public Schools an assignment yesterday: Build a third major high school, another elementary school and improve existing facilities.

Patrons overwhelmingly supported the district’s $60 million bond package, with 76 percent of voters favoring the proposal. The district will be able to issue the bonds without increasing current taxes.

"It just speaks volumes about the community and its support for Columbia Public Schools," said Lynn Barnett, assistant superintendent of student services. "We’re so thankful for this community and how wise they are about what needs to happen for our children."

District administrators and board members now have their homework cut out for them.

Over the coming months and years, school officials will have to select locations for the two new schools, work with architects and engineers to design the buildings, redraw school boundary lines and develop a transition plan to move ninth-grade students into the first phase of the new high school.

District officials have said they hope to open the elementary school and first phase of the high school by fall 2010.

"We have some big decisions to make," Barnett said.

School board member Darin Preis expects the community to play a significant role in making those decisions. "The community has been involved in every step of the huge planning process so far, and I expect that to continue," he said.

As the buildings are being designed, Preis plans to voice support to build environmentally friendly schools. "One of my biggest interests is making sure we’re going to create the most energy efficient structures we can and have as close to a neutral impact as possible," he said.

Voters won’t have to wait too long to see other pieces of the bond issue come to fruition. SmartBoards will be installed in all core classrooms by this fall, Barnett said. The interactive white boards will be in all core elementary classrooms and all core subject classes in secondary schools.

The air conditioning portion of the bond package will take a little longer to implement. About $7 million is allocated to cool Benton, Blue Ridge, Fairview, Parkade and Russell Boulevard elementary schools. The air conditioning would not be ready by the beginning of next school year because the schools are older and will have to be retrofitted, Barnett said.

The package is the first of a three-phase plan that will ask voters to issue another $60 million in bonds in 2011 and the final $60 million bond package in 2013. Future bond proposals will finish the high school and add another new elementary school.

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