Committee tabs architectural firm to lead process
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
The Burlington Area School District is poised to hire an architect with a long history of work in the district to develop a plan to update schools and facilities.
The district’s Buildings, Grounds and Transportation Committee on Monday unanimously recommended the School Board contract with Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, to assess current facilities and plan for future needs based on projected enrollments.
The recommendation will be considered by the full board at its Aug. 10 meeting.
If approved by the board, the firm will be tasked with identifying and prioritizing needed repairs, upgrades and/or replacement of school facilities based on the community’s educational desires and student population.
Superintendent Peter Smet said the district has dealt with Plunkett Raysich and it’s forerunners dating back to the design of Waller School in the 1950s. The firm also designed Dyer School as well as Burlington High School and Winlker Elementary School, built in the late 1990s, Smet said.
Plunkett Raysich has proposed a $17,000 fee plus reimbursable expenses for the planning process. If the district does decide to retain the firm for any construction projects that result, it will credit the district half that amount.
The hiring of a facilities consulting firm is one of the priorities identified in the district’s strategic planning process that wrapped up last April. The plan calls for the district to hire a consultant by October and have a final report on district facilities in April 2016.
“We’re a little bit ahead of the schedule in that regard,” Smet said.
Scott Kramer, a partner at Plunkett Raysich, made the firm’s pitch during a 20-minute presentation to the committee.
Kramer called the report his firm will develop, “The 30,000-foot view of where the Burlington Area School District is going over the next 30 years. We try to look at the overall puzzle before you spend money.”
Board members and administrators have said the district is looking for a consultant that will make recommendations based not just on the physical condition of buildings, but also on the best use of space and ideal grade configurations based on enrollment at various levels.
School Board President Jim Bousman said he liked what he heard in the presentation.
“(It) gets us outside the box and thinking about things that carry us a little bit further,” he said.
Longtime board member Bill Campbell said the district has always been satisfied with the work provided by Plunkett Raysich, but admitted the process of choosing a consultant is sometimes a “shot in the dark.”
Board member Phil Ketterhagen urged the committee to make a decision, noting that officials have heard from two firms – Plunkett Raysich and Scherrer-Nexus a year earlier – that both provide what the board is looking for.
According to Kramer, Plunkett Raysich proposes a five-step master planning process:
- Analyze current facilities, identify and prioritize maintenance needs;
- Consider educational impacts, including enrollments, class sizes and space configurations;
- Examine options to address maintenance, space and educational needs;
- Develop costs and time schedules for needed projects; and
- Produce final report.
Kramer said the firm’s goal during the process is to “understand your needs and explain them to the community.”
He also said the process will have several opportunities for administrative, board, staff and community input, which may include surveys and town hall-type listening sessions.
“It’s not our design, but the design of the community,” Kramer said.
Ketterhagen asked how much input from the board and other sources the firm would seek before offering recommendations. He said he is concerned the process would be forced if, for example, the board could not reach a consensus on “classroom breakout.”
Kramer replied, “The speed of the project is board- and administration-driven.”
He said the firm typically takes 15 to 16 weeks to complete the five-step planning process, but the speed can be adjusted to the board’s desires.
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