Latest news with #HilltopSchool
BBC News
30-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Work begins on £3m refurbishment of Hilltop school
Work has begun on a £3m project to transform a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Cramped and outdated classrooms at Hilltop School in Maltby, Rotherham, will be replaced with spacious and accessible facilities as part of the project, with more than 50 contractors working for free on the school, which provides specialist education for children with complex needs aged between two and 19, will remain open throughout the refurbishment work. Charlotte Farrington, founder of Yorkshire Children's Charity, which is co-ordinating the work, said it was "a life-changing project for the children and families" at the school. Half of state-funded schools in England for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed, BBC research found in 2011, Hilltop School had just over 80 children enrolled, but that number is now more than 180, according to the Nexus Multi Academy Trust that runs it said the 1970s building did not have the space or features to properly accommodate their needs and that the school could not previously afford to update its facilities. Yorkshire Children's Charity works with SEND schools across the region, but Ms Farrington said Hilltop School was "without question, the worst I've ever been into"."I remember coming in to visit the first time, I cried all the way home from Rotherham to Leeds out of frustration - our most vulnerable children were having to make do with such poor facilities," she called it a "pressure cooker" for staff and students. As part of its transformation, new classrooms and a centre for trampoline therapy will be Sam MacDonald said he was excited to have a designated space for the school's trampolines, as using them led to "higher engagement, higher interaction, and more alertness" amongst added they also gave "massive access to the wider world" to children with physical school's ventilation system will also be Farrington said: "Outside of home and hospital, school for many of these children is all that they know, and we really have to question what kind of society we live in if we are not putting their needs first and foremost." Lee Powell, managing director of Henry Boot Construction, one of the contractors working on the project, said: "We're quite a competitive bunch in the construction and property industry."We're competing against each other for works and contracts, but for us all to join forces and do this here, it's quite rewarding."He said he was impressed by how "upbeat" the school's students and staff were despite the "run down" work is expected to be complete by September 2026. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mendham borough voters approve $20M school referendum. What's it mean for local tax bills?
Mendham borough voters went to the polls on Tuesday and overwhelmingly passed both portions of a nearly $20 million school district referendum to fund repairs, upgrades and a new auditorium. Preliminary results posted by the Morris County Board of Elections shows a 701-203 vote in favor of the first question to authorize $9.96 million worth of spending. About $3.4 million of state aid is available to offset that cost. "High priority" projects funded with the passage include renovations to a library, science lab and heating systems at the two school buildings in the K-8 district. Hilltop School also would get a security vestibule for entering the building. Mountain View Middle School already has one. The second question authorized an additional $9.33 million in expenditures, but only if the first question passed. It passed with a vote of 601-300. Those funds will be used to construct an auditorium at Mountain View for a district that hasn't had one since a 2001 referendum funded work that necessitated the demolition of the last auditorium there. 'On behalf of our district administration and the Board of Education, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to community members for taking the time to learn about this proposal and voting,' Superintendent Mitzi Morillo wrote in a statement following the vote. With the pending retirement of debt from a 2001 referendum, residents would have seen a small decline in their annual school taxes if only the first question passed, the district said. With both halves of the referendum approved, the monthly tax bill for the average homeowner will increase by $22 a month, or $264 a year, over the 25-year term of the bonds issued to pay for the referendum. That's based on the average assessed home value in the borough of about $690,000. The new debt would not be assessed until the previous bond is paid off in July 2026, at which point the increase will kick in. More: Morristown councilman runs for NJ Assembly. Can he flip a seat in GOP stronghold? "Mendham Borough School District will now take the next steps," the district announced in its statement. "Our professional consultants will begin by selling the bonds at the most favorable rates. Architects and engineers will prepare project specifications for the bidding process. Contracts will be awarded to the lowest qualified bidders, per state regulations. The district will continue to keep the community updated throughout this process." The K-8 district serves nearly 500 students. Mendham borough and township high school students attend West Morris Mendham Regional High School. The vote awaits certification by the Morris County Clerk after mail-in and provisional ballots are counted. This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mendham borough voters OK $20M school referendum. What's that buy?
