Correction appended

Columbia Public Schools administrators are likely to recommend building a new high school on an 80-acre site southeast of Columbia.

School zones Eighty acres of property east of Columbia are planned as the location for a new high school. The addition of a school will call for changes to the district's attendance zones.

Source: Columbia Public Schools

Lora Wegman graphic

The Board of Education will be asked to approve the location at tomorrow’s workshop, which begins at 8:30 a.m.

Turner Vemer, a former Boone County farmer, donated 40 acres to the district in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Nelson Vemer. The district purchased the remaining 40 acres for $500,000, using money from the 2004 bond issue.

"I think it’s an excellent site," board Vice President Darin Preis said. "They’ve done the research to make sure it’s a feasible location, and the price is certainly right. I think it will fit with the growth of Columbia."

Jan Mees, one of the board’s newest members, said she will "need more information before making a decision" about the location. "I have concerns about the infrastructure needed at the site and the road that goes to the site," she said.

The property is outside Columbia city limits and lacks access to city water or electricity. Nearby New Haven Road and Rangeline Road are paved, but they are considered "inadequate for a significant increase in the volume of traffic," said David Mink, director the Boone County Public Works Department.

Both roads also lack sidewalks.

But those issues would likely be concerns at any vacant site, regardless of the location, board President Karla DeSpain said.

"Any place you have that much land, there is going to be some concern," she said. "There are not many locations with enough land for a high school that would have pre-existing infrastructure. We have to see what’s available, what’s appropriate and what would best serve the district."

The school district overcame similar challenges when Rock Bridge High School was built in the 1970s, board member Steve Calloway said. "If we remember back when the Rock Bridge property was chosen, it was outside the city limits," he said. "Now it’s a good site. … It’s hard to look far ahead and see growth patterns in Columbia, but I think" the Vemer property is "a good site."

Superintendent Phyllis Chase did not return phone calls or e-mails by the Tribune’s deadline.

Tomorrow’s vote will come just in time for a kickoff meeting of the new enrollment and redistricting committees. During the 8:30 a.m. meeting Friday, committee members are scheduled to review their responsibilities and the process.

Former school board member Don Ludwig, who will lead the redistricting committee, said he doesn’t expect the group to begin meeting regularly until the fall. Ludwig said the committee will finalize high school boundary lines in spring 2009, giving families a year’s advance notice.

The first phase of the new high school, projected to open in 2010, would include classrooms for about 600 students and common areas such as a cafeteria and media center. That structure would be built with $22 million from the $60 million bond issue package voters approved in April.

Voters would be asked to approve two additional bond issues to complete the high school.

The new high school would house only ninth-graders the year it opens, and additional grade levels would be added as classes move up. Students attending other Columbia high schools won’t be asked to transfer into the new building.

Although Ludwig, who stepped down from the board this month, won’t be involved in site selection, he said he’s not surprised the district is recommending the Vemer site.

SECOND THOUGHTS: Thursday, June 21, 2007

A story yesterday about the proposed site of a new high school should have said the school might open to ninth- and 10th-grade students in the fall of 2010. No decision has been made.

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