DATE: Friday, April 18, 1997                TAG: 9704180608

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   46 lines

PLAN PROVIDES FUNDS FOR GRANBY HIGH GYM

Shannon Bailey's Granby High School government class will be happy with the news - the School Board approved a plan on Thursday that includes $3 million for their gym.

But Taylor and Bay View Elementary watchers - whose new schools will be delayed as a result - won't be so excited.

In previous weeks, school and city officials have wrangled over Granby's funding, not sure if the district or the city would - or could - handle the gym's construction costs. Bailey's class, like many Granby students, have been watching the discussions because they want their new gym.

``It's small,'' Bailey, 17, said of the current gym. ``It leaks and it gets really hot in there.''

The board approved the district's capital improvement plan, which pays for construction and building needs. The plan includes $3 million for Granby and some money for Taylor and Bay View, but Granby's gym doesn't come without some give: some of the money originally assigned for Taylor and Bay View will go to Granby, pushing back construction of those new schools three months to a year.

Taylor, which was originally scheduled to open in fall of 1998, instead might open in December 1998 or early 1999. Bay View Elementary might open a year later than the previously hoped fall of 1999.

School officials have said they didn't want to push back any of the projects, but Granby work is under way and needs to be completed or the district could face contractors' penalties for construction delays.

The city had originally said it would try to pay for the gym entirely but last month asked the district to handle $1.65 million of the project.

School officials said they couldn't afford to pay for it unless they dipped into their operating budget, which pays for instructional programs and salaries. The board voted against a proposed operating budget last month that could have eliminated plans to start some educational programs to accommodate the $1.65 million.

Board chairman Ulysses Turner said city staff heard the board's concerns.

``City Council perhaps agreed with the sentiment of the board,'' Turner said, ``that our operating funds shouldn't be used for that purpose, to the best of our ability.''

The capital improvement plan will be given to city staff, which will include it in the city's overall budget. The city staff will present a proposed budget to the City Council on Tuesday. KEYWORDS: GRANBY HIGH SCHOOL NORFOLK SCHOOLS BUDGET GYM

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