Community Task Force Recommends Building New Tech High School [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD - After weeks of planning, a community task force has made a recommendation to District 742 to build a new Tech High School at a different location.

A group of 90 community members in the task force have attended four workshops over the last several weeks before deciding on the plan they presented to the school board on Wednesday night.

Options were to renovate the current Tech, add on to the current Tech, or Build a new high school somewhere else.

The task group recommened the district build a new school at a location on 33rd Street South in St. Cloud.

School Board Chair Jerry Von Korff says the board can now plan to officially discuss and take action on the future of the school during its regularly scheduled meeting on December 18th.

The board could potentially create a referendum to finance the project in 2015. Architects in the task force say building a new Tech could potentially cost $112 million. To remodel the current Tech, a project would cost an estimated $149 million.

The task force discussed the pros and cons of either remodeling the existing Tech High School, or building a new one. The group also focused on the possibility of improving Apollo High School. Overall the group said that it disliked the outdated interior spaces at Tech and the fact that it was in a restricted, landlocked location.

Von Korff says he's very pleased with how the task force came up with their recommendation.

The group says they also wouldn't want to tear down the current Tech Building, hoping to repurpose it in order to keep the historic location.