Construction of a new elementary school could include up to $1 million on “wish list” items, if the process goes smoothly enough to result in cost savings.
USD 257 board members on Monday approved construction bids of up to $26.1 million for the new school at Monroe and Kentucky streets. That’s the “guaranteed maximum price” for the project and is under budget, representatives of SJCF Architecture of Wichita and Coonrod, the general construction manager, told the board.
They also outlined 19 alternatives that could be added as the project moves forward. They include such things as enclosed upper cabinets in classrooms, a walking trail extension, wider sidewalks, an outdoor basketball court, upgraded lighting in some areas, additional parking bays and a multipurpose area that could be used for an afterschool program or other groups.
“As we get parts of the building complete, and reduce the contingency dollars, and see savings on other projects, we may be able to fund the electives and do a little better project,” Architect Allison Le said.
The plan approved by the board Monday includes enough savings to add two of the wish list items: more classrooms and adjustable shelves for increased storage. Those two projects will cost about $820,051.
The additional classrooms will result in a total of five classrooms per grade level (preschool through fifth). Administrators and school board members debated whether to build four or five classrooms per grade level.
Shrinking enrollment means the district likely could get by with four classes per grade, but the coronavirus made them reconsider. We don’t know how long this coronavirus is going to be with us and, should something like this come up again, if we have extra classrooms we should take advantage of it. Nancy Toland, USD 257 Board of Education member
“We went through a lot of debate” about the issue, board chairman Dan Willis said. “In the world right now of socially distanced learning, it seems it would be an injustice to our district to go smaller.”
Board member Nancy Toland, responding via Zoom, said teachers want smaller class sizes so they can spread students farther apart and reduce the risk of infection.
“We don’t know how long this coronavirus is going to be with us and, should something like this come up again, if we have extra classrooms we should take advantage of it,” she said.
The largest expense on the list of alternatives is a multipurpose room that would cost about $550,000 once finished. That’s about half of the cost of all alternatives combined.
The multipurpose room wasn’t part of the original plan presented to taxpayers, but was discussed since then. It would provide additional space for activities like the SAFE BASE after school program and other groups that use schools for their meetings and activities.
“It’s a tremendous amount of money and I don’t think we’ll get everything we want,” Willis said.
The board has until March to finalize their choices.
