LEEDS TRIBUNE THE ONLY SOURCE FOR LEEDS NEWS www.LeedsTribune.com
March 21, 2019 | Volume 4, Issue 11
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Leeds schools to build $1M new central office BY CINDY FISHER
Leeds Tribune Staff Leeds City Schools administrators are getting a new $1 million central office building. The Board of Education last week approved plans to build a new headquarters for Leeds City School district’s administration on vacant property bordering Leeds Middle School. The school district bought the property on Hurst Avenue several years ago because it is adjacent to the middle school, which was built in the last five years, said Superintendent John J. Moore. Leeds administrators have worked out of leased offices since 2001, and Moore said they “need more space for our growing district, and we desire to get out of the rental business.” There were other plans to
get the Board of Education out of rented space. The most recent plan was to give the administration office space within a new municipal complex the city planned to build with a tax increase. But voters turned down the increase in a January referendum. To pay for building a new office, Leeds school district is getting an advance in funding from the Public School & College Authority instead of the annual appropriation. PSCA funds are meant for facility maintenance, upgrades, expansion and more. The Leeds Board of Education previously approved the advance draw against the PSCA allocation for the municipal complex but shifted gears when the referendum failed, Moore said. The board’s office is currently housed in an office on 8th Avenue next to where
several new businesses have moved in, which has made parking tight. Last week, the Leeds school board reviewed a concept drawing for a new central office building and approved using Lathan
Associates as the architect. Lathan also designed plans for the proposed athletic fields and municipal building that residents voted down. The new facility will have approximately 5,000 square
feet of space and include a board meeting room, storage space and office space for central office staff, as well as 50 parking spaces for employees, visitors and spectators on game nights, Moore said.
The “look” of the facility will match the facade and materials at LMS, he said. Moore said he expects construction to start this summer, and they will move in on May 1, 2020.
Colton Moore Leeds High School shows he’s tough Prom 2019 as he prepares for surgery #37 BY KARIM SHAMSI-BASHA Leeds Tribune Staff
Colton Moore has had 36 surgeries in his nine years of life and another one to come
in April, but he’s still found time to make a lot of friends. He even has his own baseball team. Colton suffers from several illnesses as a result of
being born with spina bifida, a birth defect in the walls of the spinal canal. One complication is a pocket of fluid
See COLTON MOORE, Page 6
LHS juniors and seniors partied at Prom on Saturday night, choosing their Prom Queen Taylor Sisk and Prom King Micah Hodge. See more photos from Prom on Page 6.
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