With time running out to vacate their Haines Borough-owned building by June 30, the board of the Chilkat Valley Preschool will meet 6 p.m. Monday, hoping to make a decision on a new, permanent home.
The board has been offered space near the Presbyterian Church and was considering siting a new structure or modular building there, but chose to take a hard look at other options, said manager Renee Hoffman.
Those include acquiring the Human Resources Building or the former Elks Lodge building on Main Street, finding a home to remodel into a preschool, or collaborating with another community group on another structure, board members said this week.
“We want all options to be on the table before we walk into something that’s not a good fit. We want to make sure we’re making the best choice for the future of the preschool,” Hoffman said.
Board member Kat Cheney said this week that the borough would like the assessed value for the Human Resources Building, a former U.S. Government School built on First Avenue to serve Native children in 1905.
With an assessed value of $170,000 and the need for at least $150,000 in repairs to its roof, windows, floors, plumbing and lighting fixtures, the building doesn’t compete well with other options, said board chair Alissa Henry.
Henry estimates a new building or new modular structure would cost $400,000, as much as half of that covered by grants from philanthropic organizations. The school has raised about $51,000, but needs about half of construction costs in hand to trigger grants.
“That’s not looking very doable” with regard to the June 30 deadline, Henry said. “We kind of just need someone with a lot of money to just give us money.”
Henry said board members also met with Haines Borough School District officials about a partnership to buy the former Elks building, but the district didn’t express interest in investing in it. Henry said she didn’t see much potential in the former lodge, including because it’s larger than what the school needs and the school would likely need a partner organization to get into it.
Cheney, who spoke favorably about the Human Resources Building this week, said the borough should weigh the value of the preschool program to the town.
“We’re a nonprofit, but we’re providing a huge service to the community. Families need this. The borough wants (a new buyer) paying taxes on this building, but what if having no preschool causes families to leave town? What does that do to taxes?”
Cheney said the building is functional. “It’s not condemned. We could put new windows in it and siding. We might as well keep a historic building functioning rather than condemning it.”
Working on a solution to use the Human Resources Building is the only way the preschool can meet the borough’s June 30 deadline, Cheney said. Board chair Henry said she prefers a new construction or a new modular building “but it’s also the one we need to raise the most money for.”
Henry said meeting the June 30 deadline is the strongest reason for looking at staying in their current location. “We’re feeling the stress of the time crunch to make a big decision like this (but) we’re looking to make it a straight path, so we can pursue one option,” she said. “And the quickest choice may not be the best idea in the long run.”
The preschool is continuing fundraising efforts, including crowdsourcing through razoo.com. Residents who have ideas or want to help the project should call the school at 766-3213 or email [email protected]. The privately-operated school has 24 students enrolled.
Manager Hoffman said the Human Resources Building has always been viewed as a temporary site for the school, although it’s been located there longer than 30 years. “It’s always been in the back of people’s minds that the program was moving somewhere else, so the preschool and the borough have made only basic improvements.”