PIERCETON - Staff, students and the community of Whitko Community School Corp. will get to voice their opinions about the Whitko High School improvement and renovation project next week.

Whitko School Board is hosting three meetings to receive comments about the project. The meetings are Monday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Whitko High School, South Whitley; Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Central Office, Pierceton; and May 14, 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Whitko Middle School, Larwill.

According to Whitko Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hendrix, the meetings are to gather information from the community on the maintenance and upgrades at the high school. The work may include anything from HVAC, lighting, storage, locker rooms, restrooms, lockers and traffic flow issues. "There's all kinds of issues," said Hendrix. "We're trying to get input from staff, students and the community."

The architects for the project are meeting today with staff and students to hear their concerns.

City Securities was hired by the Whitko School Board to work on the financing of the project once the scope of the project is determined. Hendrix said Whitko also will hire a performance contracting company to help the school corporation save them money in the long run.

"This is very important to us," said Hendrix of the meetings. "It gives every taxpayer an opportunity to express their views on this."

Views on the scope, paying for the project and how long the work should take are all welcome, he said. "That's what's important for us. If we know how long they want the work to last," Hendrix said, they can determine if the community wants and expects a new high school building in 10 to 15 years or more.

Hendrix said the most important thing he wants the community to know is that they want to do what is best for the students. There also are security issues to consider "to keep students safe."

Members of the Whitko School Board are Dave Tranter, Hal Trump, E. Marie Trump, Pete Mitchell and Michael Braddock. [[In-content Ad]]