Chatham To Vote On $15M School District Projects

Voters in Chatham will soon decide, among other district-wide fixes, whether Chatham High School gets a new auditorium. The proposal to update fixtures and equipment in the Cougars auditorium is part of a special school district referendum that voters will decide upon at the election on September 27.

Over the past year, the Board called on residents for feedback on potential school district projects by holding four public session and surveying roughly 1200 residents. Now, there are six proposals that have been suggested, vetted, and now attached to the special school district election, each calculated to cost upwards of $1 million dollars. The high school auditorium fixes would cost $3,500,000, and the project, like the other five, would require the issuance of school district bonds to finance the project.

The other proposals include a renovation for the Chatham Middle School auditorium at $3,800,000 for the project; a STEM addition for Chatham Middle School for $3,200,000; improvements at Cougar Field, for $1,429,000; the construction of an addition at the Milton School District of the Chathams for $2,400,000; and a partial roof replacements at Chatham High School, the Chatham Middle School and the Lafayette Avenue School for $1,535,300 for the project.

If all the bond proposals are approved by the voters, the Board of Education will initiate the school district improvements for a total cost of $15,864,300, to be covered through bonds for the total amount. The projected implications to taxpayers would be approximately $16.71 for each $100,000 of a home's assessed value.

Two additional information sessions will be held in the coming weeks, on September 7 at 7 PM at the Milton Avenue School, in the All-Purpose Room; and on September 13 at 7 PM in the Chatham Middle School Library-Media Center.