Here’s what Madison School District’s $27 million bond paid for
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REXBURG — It’s back-to-school time at Madison High School and students are getting a first look at the results of a $27 million bond passed back in 2017.
“I hope for a feeling of pride,” said Madison School District Superintendent Geoffrey Thomas. “That the students can look at the facilities that have been constructed for them and recognize the support the community has for them.
The school bond was passed to accommodate for growth and to improve facilities across the Madison School District 321.
“We built classrooms onto Kennedy and Burton Elementary. Those are two of our fastest-growing elementary schools. The classrooms are in use right now. We built 12 additional classrooms on to the high school, including two science labs and a robotics lab,” said Thomas.
“The new science labs are literally state-of-the-art,” said Madison High School Principal Mike Bennett. “We’re able to prepare kids for a whole new kind of world and we have a really nice facility and top-quality teachers that can get the training they need and have all the tools they need.”
While administrators express gratitude for the classroom projects, it is the athletic facilities that really grab the community’s attention — especially the football stadium.
“The home side of the stadium holds 4,500 people. The ability to house the fans for Madison all in one place will be great,” said Logan Bingham of Headwaters Construction. “The field is lit by LED lights and the lights have been pre-engineered to hit every part of the field at just the right angle. The field really does just kind of glow and shine when those lights hit it at nighttime.”
According to Bingham, the turf is the same quality that is used for professional football fields.
“One of the important elements of the turf that we selected is what’s called a concussion pad. The concussion pad is underneath the turf and then you put the carpet turf down and then the infill inside of that. When I walk out on the field, even I feel like an All-Star,” said Bingham.
Adding to the professional-quality turf and lighting system, Idaho Central Credit Union made a sizable contribution to fund a state-of-the-art digital video scoreboard.
“It’s the same scoreboard you find at any professional field,” said Madison High School Assistant Football Coach Erick Wills. It does live playback. It can do full-motion video. The sound is absolutely amazing. People are surprised that it comes from one speaker cluster up on the top, but it can be heard a mile or two away.”
Madison High School Athletic Director, Shane Proctor expressed his gratitude for the new athletic facilities. “To walk out there and realize this is our own and realize how impressive everything is really was something different. Our kids are going to be able to utilize this for years and years to come.”
According to Bennett, the new track and soccer stadium will seat a thousand people, and he looks forward to holding big events and track meets there. “We have nine lanes and our previous track only had seven. The specifications on the track are top-notch. We can host all the events that Boise State University can host. The Boise State track is the facility it was mostly designed after,” said Bennett.
Other new additions to Madison High School include four practice soccer fields, a practice football field, and additional parking.
New facilities inside the high school include an auxiliary gym, wrestling room and expanded weight room.
“The auxiliary gym has nearly the same square footage on the floor as our main gym. It will have a seating capacity of a thousand people. Our wrestling room is about fifty or sixty percent larger than the old wrestling room. Because we were able to move the wrestling room we were able to roughly double the size of our weight room,” said Bennett.
Proctor feels the upgrades will help recruit and retain coaches and faculty. “I think because we have a top-notch sports complex and the science labs, the new classrooms, the auditorium, it makes for a very good recruiting tool to get teachers here and then, not only get them here but keep them here for years to come. They know that they have the support, not only of the administration but of the patrons of the school district for voting on the bond and passing it the way that they did.”
Superintendent Thomas said he has an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the bond passage that has made the new facilities a reality. “Whenever a community at eighty-one and a half percent votes to support a particular endeavor it’s indicative of tremendous support and I’m just sincerely appreciative. We’re just really grateful for the support we received from the community.
Much of the construction on the new facilities was completed over the summer, but there are still projects in the works including a multi-use indoor facility for tennis, soccer, and other community events.
The school district is hosting an open house for the community on Friday, August 30 at the new Bobcat Stadium. The event is free to the public and includes food, activities and the season opener football game between Madison High School and Lake City.