Trenton R-9 Board Takes No Action On Contract

Feb 2, 2004 | Headline News

After receiving clarification of a contract offered by the city of Trenton to the Trenton R-9 Board of Education concerning the city-owned building in which the R-9 central office is located, the board on Saturday took no action on the contract and will now be moving its offices to a district-owned facility by the end of July.

Superintendent Craig Noah said the board discussed the contract, in which the city offered to defer rent payments by the school district for two years if the district would remain in the building, thus allowing the district to use the building rent free. The contract also stated that should the district want to leave before the two years were up, it would be required to pay the city $12,000, the equivalent of what it would cost the district to rent the building for two years at $500 per month. The third year of the contract called for the district to begin paying rent of $750 per month to the city.

The board, at a meeting last week, had rejected the original proposal and asked Noah to negotiate a contract with the city for six months, with the district paying rent of $500 per month during that period. At the end of that time, the board stated it intended to move to a building already owned by the school district.

Noah said that the lack of action by the board means the district will continue to rent from the city on a month-to-month basis, adding that he has notified City Administrator Kerry Sampson of the district’s intention to move out of the building at the end of July. Although the board did discuss possible sites at a meeting in January, no final decisions as to location of the offices have been determined.