The Newton School Board spent well over an hour last night discussing a possible lease with the Newton YMCA for a portion of the Emerson Hough Elementary School Building. Board members came to a consensus on a number of lease items, but did not formally adopt an agreement, as that needs to be written by the school district’s attorney. The YMCA wants to move their daycare program out of their building to the Emerson Hough school, where it can expand. The Newton YMCA proposes using ten classrooms, the library/media center, the kitchen, and the playground for $1-thousand a month. The School District would also be responsible for paying all the utilities, which Superintendent Tom Messenger says totaled about $75-thousand dollars for the entire building last school year.

“The biggest savings you would see in utilities if we were to close a building would not come from Emerson Hough. Apart from Berg Middle School, Emerson Hough is our most energy efficient building in the district because of the money we have put into it with new windows, roof, and HVAC system. It really is an efficient building.”

Both sides are agreeable to a 20-year lease with the rent and terms up for negotiations every five years. The Newton School District will not be using the Emerson Hough or Woodrow Wilson Elementary schools next school year as the transition from four to two elementary schools will be completed, with renovations and additions finished to Thomas Jefferson and Aurora Heights Elementary Schools. The proposed lease with the Newton YMCA will be brought back for discussion and possible action at the next Newton School Board meeting on October 27th.