By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
With costs now before the Burlington Area School District School Board, the narrowing of options on the district’s facilities study is about to start.
After a presentation by Nick Kent of Plunkett Raysich Architects Monday night, the board set an Oct. 31 meeting date to narrow the number of options.
The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. – right in the middle of the City and Town of Burlington’s trick or treat hours. However, board members expressed the desire to keep the process moving forward.
There is time pressure. BASD Superintendent Peter Smet said at the meeting that in order to get the issue on the April election ballot as a referendum question, the board would have to approve the referendum at its January meeting.
That leaves just November and December to narrow the options and conduct a community survey. Smet said he would contact School Perceptions Inc. – the group that conducted a staff survey in the spring – to conduct the community survey.
As things stand now, the district has several options. The district is pursuing options that involve renovating Karcher Middle School, building a new middle school, a combination of both options, two-section elementary schools at all locations and what is being called Option A – upgraded athletics and performing arts facilities.
Those options, as priced now, would range between $43.3 million and $72.2 million, which includes a contingency and soft costs number but not furniture, fixtures or equipment.
No allowance has been made for the removal of hazardous materials that may be found unless it’s already been identified, but all maintenance needing to be done has been factored into the costs, including secure entrances at all buildings.
The options are:
- Renovate Karcher into either a grades six to eight or grades five to eight middle school, convert Dyer to a fifth elementary school and relocate 4K to sixth grade Montessori students to either Karcher or Cooper Elementary School.
The latter option would be if fifth grade moved to Karcher, and Cooper would become a dedicated Montessori site. Attendance boundaries would be revised in either option to balance enrollment at all schools, and some spaces at all schools would be renovated for modern learning environments.
The cost for these two options would be at the low end of the spectrum, $43.3 million.
- Construction of a new middle school with a target enrollment of between about 650 to 850 students, depending on whether fifth grade is included at the site.
Karcher would then be demolished when the new building is completed, and parking and athletic fields would fit on the old school’s footprint. The new school would go where the athletic fields are currently, and there would also be a dedicated Montessori wing for grades 4K to six. Dyer would again be converted to a fifth elementary school, and enrollment would be balanced.
The cost, which includes demolition of Karcher, would be between $65.3 and $72.2 million, depending on the size of the school.
- Renovate Karcher and build new portions, including a separate wing for Montessori students in grades 4k to six.
The two options would again fit either grades five to eight or six to eight, convert Dyer to a fifth elementary school, and provide separate entrances for the middle school and Montessori students. Enrollment would be balanced again.
The projected cost is between $56.6 and $60.1 million, depending on whether fifth grade is located at the Karcher site.
- Provide two sections of each grade level at all elementary schools, relocate Cooper students to Dyer (which would now be an elementary school) and turn Cooper into a Montessori-only school.
This option would involve moving sixth grade to Karcher – and do all the maintenance needed at Karcher – and put six-classroom additions at Lyons and Winkler (plus assigning a special education room). Fifth grade would be shifted to the elementary schools, and both Karcher and Waller would be renovated.
Attendance boundaries would be revised, and it would use all buildings to their capacity. The cost is estimated at $47.9 million.
- Option A would be expanding athletic and performing arts space at the high school, including a 750-seat performing arts building, a two-mat wrestling facility, a dedicated gymnastics facility, a fitness/weight room and lobby space, dressing rooms, costume storage and the like for performing arts.
That option alone would be $21.8 million.
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