A proposed lease agreement for space at the Emerson Hough Elementary building next year is back on the agenda for tonight’s Newton School Board meeting. Board members will continue discussing a possible lease. During their last meeting two weeks ago, the Newton School Board 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 proposed using ten classrooms, the library/media center, the kitchen, and the playground for $1000 a month. The School District would also be responsible for paying all the utilities, which Superintendent Tom Messenger says totaled about $75,000 dollars for the entire building last school year. 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. 

Tonight’s Newton School Board Meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the EJH Beard Administration Center at 1302 First Avenue West.