Wellington Middle School counselor William Peisner has visions of a state-of-the-art Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) classroom somewhere near the new wind turbine on the school campus.

He believes the regional and state collaborations the school forged in making the turbine a reality, along with inclusion on a likely November bond issue, will help make that vision come true. For all of that to happen, however, the school must leap several hurdles.

Hurdle 1: Wellington Middle School must convince community and school officials that its Net Zero (energy self-sufficient) STEM classroom needs to be part of a Poudre School District bond issue. The committee visited the school on March 22 to get a prioritized list of school facility needs. Member Len Roark said that Wellington’s wants and needs will be added to those from 49 other PSD schools to see what might be included in a proposed bond issue. He said the committee seemed favorably impressed with Wellington’s presentation.

“State financial issues make this a unique situation this time,” he said.

Colorado has been forced to drastically cut school funding. The loss in revenue from the state to PSD is estimated at $12 million for the 2010-2011 school year.

Roark said past mill levies (which provide money for operating costs) and bond issues (which raise money for building projects) have been used for new facilities and programs, but now districts may have to look to these sources just to maintain what they have.

Hurdle 2: Should Wellington’s proposed classroom make the list of projects to be funded by the bond issue, voters still need to approve the measure. This can be a tough sell. In addition to the current rough economic times, Roark noted that 60 to 67 percent of local voters don’t have children. These voters generally acknowledge the overall importance of education when casting “yes” votes to raise their taxes.

Peisner said Wellington’s building proposal offers not only great educational opportunities, but it will yield sufficient bang-for-the-buck to appeal to district and voter bargain hunters.

The Net Zero classroom is timely, said Peisner, as it ties in with energy conservation needs and themes. It should also identify Wellington as having an innovative, 21st century learning environment that can inspire and train students for cutting-edge technologies.

Peisner also pointed to the relationships forged with the Department of Local Affairs, Colorado State University and community businesses with a stake in “green industry.”

“If the district can fund one-third of expenses, the school can raise the rest (through grants like those available through DOLA),” Peisner said.

Peisner also noted that raising money becomes easier as more donors come on board.

Hurdle 3: The school will need to apply for and secure grants. Visions take time to coalesce. WMS waited two years to see its turbine rise into the sky. The Net Zero STEM classroom could cost about $1.3 million dollars and take nine to 12 months to build once all the funding is in place.

According to Peisner, the wait will be worth it.