GLASGOW — Patience was stressed by members of the community who spoke during a public forum Thursday for the Glasgow Board of Education Local Planning Committee.

More than 20 members of the public came to the meeting seeking answers about what the committee planned to do about Glasgow High School — build a new building or renovate the existing one.

This was the first meeting of the new local planning committee and there were few answers available for those who in attendance.

Randy Wilkinson, director of pupil personnel, stated that things have changed since a recommendation was made to change the facility plan to renovate the existing high school. The high school building is the biggest issue in the district and the facility coordinator has a hard time just keeping up with all the issues there.

“Since then we’ve passed the recallable nickel,” he said. The nickel is a tax increase of $50 per year on a $100,000 home and by law can only be used for building construction and renovation.

That change increased the district bonding capacity from $4.1 million to $14.7 million. There is a chance the district’s bonding capacity could go up to $19.1 million if the state legislature approves an equalization nickel, which would mean the state would match what the local tax provides in building funds, Wilkinson said.

“We won’t know about equalization until the legislature concludes the spring session,” he said. “There are no guarantees at all of that.”

The district will pay off some of its current debt in 2012, said Sue Furlong, finance officer.

It’s unclear how much that will increase the district’s bonding capacity. Most of the district’s current debt relates to the construction of Highland Elementary in 2005, she said. The debt on that bond will not be paid until 2025. It cost $9.1 million to construct the new elementary that consolidated Happy Valley and E.B. Terry elementaries.

Glasgow resident Patrick Gaunce said it would be better for the district to be patient and wait a couple more years to build a new high school instead of rushing into renovating the existing school.

“We all know the high school needs help and needed help five years ago,” he said.

Glasgow resident Larry Glass Jr. said he has spoken with the last three governors about the issue and they have all said the school district has to do everything in its power to help itself before there is any chance of receiving state assistance.

“We’ve now done all we can do,” he said.

It’s up to the community to work toward getting the legislature to approve the equalization nickel, Glass said.

“I’ve talked to both our legislators and they’re on board,” he said.

No matter what is done, now is the best time to start a project because of the economy, Glass said. Any project started now will save the district money.

“You used to have four or five companies bid for work, but now you have 40,” he said. “Companies are bidding for projects now at cost just to have work.”

The issue with renovation is that it would take four to six years to complete, said resident Carl Bishop. A new school could be completed in two years.

In addition there are safety concerns with having students attend a school while it’s being renovated, he said. There are issues with things like asbestos in the high school.

The children of Glasgow deserve a new school, said Julie Adkins.

“I go with my son to other schools for baseball and other events and I hear him and his friends say, ‘I wish we had a school like that.’”

There’s a lot of technology that needs to be considered with a new school, said Tammy Brock. Also there are also additional problems and costs that are incurred when you attempt to renovate a building that is 40 years old.

The key for this project is to have a vision for what is wanted with a high school and work towards it, said school board member Elaine Richardson, who attended the meeting.

“We need to think about the future,” she said. “We need to all get a vision of where we want to be in 10 years, 20 years and 50 years and take the best steps to get there.”

The issue is that $14 million probably isn’t enough money to build a new high school, Richardson said.

The Glasgow School Board is having a special meeting Saturday at 9 a.m. where they will be talking to five architects about the high school.

Each of the five companies have toured the high school, Wilkinson said. It will be up to the school board to make a recommendation about which architect is hired.

The planning committee will have a lot more information at the next meeting, he said. The date for the next meeting has not been set. The committee will have at least one additional public forum.