BUCHANAN — If a $31 million bond proposal passes for Buchanan Community Schools, four of its buildings will get additions or facelifts and students will be equipped with new technology.

The vote on the bond will take place May 3.

Superintendent Andrea van der Laan outlined the benefits of the bond, while highlighting the financial struggles the district faces in the upcoming year at a community meeting at Buchanan High School Thursday night.

If the bond passes, Stark Elementary School, which needs the most fixing, would be shut down, while the other buildings would be remodeled or expanded.

The middle school, housing the fifth through eighth grades, would get a 36,000-square-foot addition that would include an expanded gym, eight new classrooms, additional parking, replaced lighting, heating and water piping, among other changes. The site would also be rearranged to improve student safety.

Ottawa Elementary would be expanded by 33,000-square-feet with a new physical education/multi-purpose space, nine new classrooms, and new music, visual arts and life skills spaces. The welcome center, media center, computer lab and parking lot would also be expanded. The building would be for pre-kindergarten through second grade.

Moccasin Elementary, which would be for third and fourth grades, would not expand but see upgrades. New lighting, air conditioning and an expanded media center, computer lab and welcome center would be added.

The high school would make some minor changes for compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

It would take three years for all the improvements to be made, and at that point Stark Elementary would close.

Van der Laan said the structural integrity of the buildings are solid, but they all need significant upgrades and repairs.

“When I first got here, I saw browning ceilings, wires stretched across rooms and leaky roofs,” van der Laan said.

The bond would cost taxpayers with a taxable value of $50,000 about $140 a year.

Van der Laan said that while the upfront investment is significant, “we end up saving money in the long run.”

The repairs and upgrades provided by the bond would cut down on the constant minor repairs for technology and maintenance issues currently being done. The district would also save money through the addition of energy efficient products.

The bond would also allow for the improvement of the fiber-optic network, allowing the students to do more online learning and making the phones more reliable. As it stands, if too many students are online at one time, the network crashes, van der Laan said. Other much-needed technologies also would be purchased for the students.

Van der Laan said given the reduction in state funding, the district is looking at a $1.2 million shortfall next year, making the bond even more important.

“Why the bond? Because we have to do more with less,” she said.

Van der Laan also argued the bond would be good for the Buchanan community as a whole.

“The downtown is starting to revitalize, which is great for weekenders but what brings people to the community is good schools,” she said.

If the bond does not pass, van der Laan said she would recommend to the board to close Stark Elementary next year as a cost-saving measure.

For more information on the bond proposal, visit www.buchananschools.com.