By Jerry Wagner
PRAIRIE STAR

The West Elk School Board met in a muted planning session Monday evening designed to contemplate long-range possibilities of building a new facility on the centrally located campus in Howard.

Attending this evening were the majority of the board members, two architects from PBA & Associates, as well as a smattering of parents.

Board president Marty Talliaferro stated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the declining enrollment, now at 346 students, and that given continual financial pressures they were considering building a new facility.

The focus, according to Talliaferro, was to discuss a centrally located facility that would be capable of providing a quality education and meeting the varying demands of our district for 20 to 25 years.

There were two options initially discussed: building a new facility on the West Elk campus or utilizing the old grade school. Talliaferro expressed discomfort with the effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing the old grade school building. Ed Klock of PBA explained that in Newton they had utilized an early 20th century school building and it had cost roughly 75 percent of a new build, which tends to run roughly $160 per sq ft.

PBA outlined that the first steps in a construction design process would be to evaluate the existing West Elk High School structure and contemplate any necessary improvements and where to locate any new facility.

As stated by Talliaferro: “My goal is to put the district on a stable financial footing. and any plan would need to provide adequate growth room, should such growth occur. “

Klock discussed that there were four primary budgetary concerns: building costs, site improvements, equipment/furniture costs, and a contingency fund. There was a discussion regarding the considerations of building either an attached or detached structure or the code implications that would result from an attached structure.

The potential details of a new facility as well as modifications to West Elk were then discussed in some detail focusing on correctly aligning the building to match the curriculum for the twenty-first century. Discussions of whether foreign language, interactive distance learning, athletic improvements, and what potential technology integration should be included were discussed, with the general consensus among the board being that the structure should encompass some improvements to address current deficits in technology and athletics.

Mr. Reese presented an example of the Rose Hill school district that had utilized a cloverleaf layout to the elementary school that integrated the grades and focused more on the individual needs of the student as well as having multiple uses for each learning space.

Based on current board policy of no more than 24 students per classroom, the new facility would require, at a minimum, one classroom per grade level as well as a further 3 flex classrooms that would adapt to whichever grade levels had exceeded board policy.

In addition, there would potentially either be a new elementary library or a unified library facility that would permit, perhaps, utilizing the current West Elk library as additional classroom space. The subject of a practice gymnasium or multi-purpose room absorbed a significant period of discussion, especially considering the current lack of scheduling flexibility available for the West Elk gymnasium.

The general board consensus was to entertain a practice gym that would have seating for 100-150 people that would be roughly 8500 square feet in size. Bert Moore explained that in 2006, he and his administration had discussed an estimate on a facility of 12 classrooms, a library, a multi-purpose room, a gymnasium, restroom facilities, and secretarial/administrative rooms at a built cost of $2.5 million.

Much discussion centered on the potential twenty-first century advancements that could be included both in building technology and classroom technology. The general agreement was that any new structure should incorporate some element of available efficiencies.

Several classroom technological advancements were discussed including Smart Boards, in-classroom projectors, and mobile wireless computer carts. The statement was made by Bert Moore “What would the school of the future look like?” He encouraged the board to plan to encompass the future.

Talliaferro furthered that by stating that he had several graduates comment on their lack of preparedness for the technology that they had encountered upon graduating.

The discussion focused more on the mechanics and time lines of any construction and bond issue. Once a preliminary design concept and its costs were relayed to the board, should it adopt a resolution for a bond, the state would require 75-90 days to review the proposal before a bond election could be held.

If a bond issue were passed, the design period would require an additional 6-9 months with construction then requiring 12-15 months.

Talliaferro was quick to explain that the board would be required to utilize maximum Local Option Budget authority on this next budget and that the district was losing all fiscal flexibility.

It is important to note that state aid towards construction costs can range from 26 to 34 percent depending on economic conditions in the district, so the bond amount would be dependent on said aid.

It was generally agreed by the board to have the architects review with the school administrators the current facility at the West Elk campus and begin to discuss with staff the elements of a new facility.

This session would be scheduled at some point in the next few weeks with a Board follow up possible in the next few months.

The architects made it clear that the most beneficial sessions for these initial plans were ones that were collaborative and inclusive in nature.

Talliaferro said, “Tthe community expects that we should go forward even if we don’t do anything in the end.”