NICKERSON, Kan. — The Nickerson School Board approved the hiring of Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architects to do a facilities study for the district.

The action could be the first step to a bond issue for major improvements to the district’s school buildings.

According to Superintendent Dawn Johnson, the study will include meetings with district administrators and eventually teachers and other officials. It also includes the assembling of a steering committee, which the district hopes to have in place in the next couple of weeks.

The study will include a thorough walkthrough of each of the district’s buildings to determine need and how much it would cost to provide what the district wants.

Johnson says that any decision on a bond issue to pay for the improvements is still at least eight months to a year away, saying a lot depends on how much state funding is available and how many other districts are doing similar projects at that time.