The facts facing the Frederick School Board are these:

• The community voted to pass a $6.175 million school bond issue for renovation and construction work at Prather Brown Elementary School.

• The bond issue will be on the tax rolls for 16 years.

• It’s not enough.

The board heard from outgoing Superintendent Tony O’Brien Tuesday evening that the final bid on the project came in at $7.723 million, an overage of $1.548 million.

The board, along with incoming Superintendent Shannon Vanderburg, now must decide how much of the project must be cut.

One thing they learned from listening to representatives from their architect and construction manager is that the finish date at will be extended by at least six months. By easing the timeline like this, classes will be in session while work is being done and O'Brien said it will probably mean "moving teachers and kids around".

The board was given a list compiled by Fenix Constructors, the construction manger firm, of items the board members can cut.

Of the 29 items, four were considered non-negotiable:

• Delete the four (4) side court goals

• At Prather Brown, delete Geo-Thermal System and replace with High Efficient Heat Pump System

• Change all new HVAC to natural gas/electric from Geo-Thermal System

• At Prather Brown, change Standing Seam Retrofit to a tapered membrane roof and replace RTU’s. No interior work in Prather Brown.

The big-ticket item in the budget is the Geo-Thermal System, which came in at twice the amount originally thought.

O’Brien told the board, “If you want immediate savings the Geo Thermal goes away, if you want long term savings, it stays.”

He summed up the other cuts as resulting in a project that is functional, just “not pretty”.

Following an executive session, the board voted to hire Kimberly Abbott as the new Elementary School Principal. Abbott has been working as the Assistant Principal. In addition, Janice Crume was hired as Principal at Prather Brown.

The also approved the hiring of Ellen Davis as Temporary Elementary School Special Education Teacher and Misty Thornton as Temporary Secondary Teacher.