Time
to pay for improved school buildings? Proposes renovations bond this Nov.
By Elizabeth Prata
At the August 17 School Board workshop-meeting, the
SAD15 Facilities Upgrade and Renovations Committee
(FURC) presented a progress report to the Board, and
shared its preliminary recommendations for projects
to be included in the bond proposal going before voters
this November. Their preliminary recommendations would
total $10,727,864.
The Charge
SAD 15 teacher Deb LeDoux and Facilities Committee
Chair Peter Pinkerton presented the information to
the Board. Mr. Pinkerton said that in February of
2005, the School Board authorized the creation of
the Committee and charged it with the task of recommending
to the Board projects to be included for application
to the state Revolving Renovation Fund. The Committee
was also charged with reviewing program improvements
for the five schools that would be funded totally
at local expense, and to create and implement strategies
for successful passage of the November bond vote.
Last week, there were a total of 34 applications that
went to the State for consideration for reimbursement
under the Revolving Renovation Fund program. Mr. Pinkerton
said that preliminary feedback is that the SAD has
a good chance of receiving their maximum allotted
reimbursements.
Board Chair Dr. Alan Rich said that the State calculates
reimbursement based on the total percentage of subsidy
that the District receives. In SAD 15's case, the
District is awarded 55% reimbursement annually.
Members
Members of the Committee met from mid February to
mid August. Those members are Peter Pinkerton, Dr.
Alan Rich, Manning Morrill, George Litrocapes, Ron
Brann, Andy Upham, Lyndon Keck, Hal Phillips, James
Hutchinson, Terry Towle, Victoria Burns, David Sutherland,
Paul Penna, Dan Joseph, Deb Ledoux, Craig Moore, Dan
Maguire, and Geoff Robbins.
Overview
A brief overview of their work to date includes:
· Reviewed facilities studies including the
Sewall Report and the Portland Design Team (PDT) Report.
· Reviewed enrollment projections for next
10 years; no projected increase in enrollment.
· Recommended state Priority 1 and Priority
2 applications for all five schools.
· Discussed and prioritized high school programs
to be included in the local bond.
· Discussed and prioritized Dunn space needs.
· Met with fine arts and sports booster community
members and high school teachers for feedback for
direction of any final recommendations.
· Victoria Burns, Terry Towle, Dan Joseph met
with PDT on 8/17 to revise figures based on new PDT
numbers.
Proposed bond of about $10 million
As of August 15th, the Committee made preliminary
recommendations, proposing a bond total of $10,727,864.
Some of this would be offset by state assistance,
to a maximum reimbursement award of 2.1 million. "Getting
all that is unlikely," said Mr. Pinkerton, "the
reimbursement we are estimating is likely is more
like 1.5 million."
The recommended projects that qualify for applications
for partial subsidy from the state Revolving Renovations
Fund for Priority 1 and 2 projects for all 5 schools
come to $5,024,314. These are health, safety, and
accessibility issues.
According to Board member Alan Rich, the state subsidy
for these items would be in the same proportion as
the state's other funding to this District. The precise
contribution from the state will be calculated in
about three weeks. The Committee recommended spending
an additional $5,703,550 of purely local money for
other projects not covered by the state's Revolving
Fund. These would be programming improvements and
other facility improvements and not life-safety issues,
such as a reconstructed front entryway at the High
School.
$5,024,314 Priority 1 and 2 items listed by school:
Memorial School $1,514,443
Priority 1:
· Life safety (kitchen hood, corridor wall
ratings, enlarge doors for egress etc for fire concerns)
· ADA issues (bathrooms, ramps, doors)
· Indoor air quality (CO2), ceilings, chimney
· Roof
Priority 2:
· Boiler, water heater, heating pipes
· Electrical system: lighting, intercom, clock
system, security system
· Plumbing, leech system
· Exterior walls and windows
· Ceilings, kitchen window and doors
Russell School, $1,180,611
Priority 1:
· Life safety code: kitchen hood, corridor
rating, door closers
· ADA compliance
· Roof renovations
· Indoor air quality; ventilation for CO2 levels
Priority 2:
· Ceilings
· Window walls and exterior walls
· Lighting and electrical infrastructure
· Boiler, boiler room, chimney, pipes
Dunn School, $166,149
Priority 1:
· ADA (barrier free ramps, bi-level water coolers)
· Life safety: exterior door awnings, door
swings
· Indoor air quality: boiler room chimney,
add relief ductwork, music room ventilation
Priority 2:
· Other systems: ceiling tiles
Middle School, $507,718
Priority 1:
· Indoor air quality: mechanical ventilation
system for corridors, ceiling tiles
· ADA issues (bathrooms, door swings etc)
· Life safety code: electrical, kitchen hood
· Roof (drainage, snow guards)
Priority 2:
· External closures: masonry, grading
· Foundation systems (entry mat)
· Electrical systems: exterior lighting
High School, $1,655,393
Priority 1:
· Indoor air: ventilation to correct CO2, ceilings,
replacement ductwork
· Roof: Performing Arts Building, walkway,
water stains etc.
· ADA: door openers, ramps, signage, plumbing,
water fountains etc
· Life safety: railings, kitchen hood, gas
shutoffs in labs, elevator recall etc., door closers,
rated ceilings
Priority 2
· Exterior closure: replacement of glass wall,
wall cracking, exterior ceiling
· Interior construction: ceiling locker rooms,
west gym floor, east gym superstructure
$5,703,550 in other projects, listed by school
Dunn School, $826,000
The school would get two classrooms to replace the
portable and an additional small group meeting space
(Title 1, OT etc)
Memorial School, $27,097
This money is the additional funds required to demolish
and construct new space, versus renovating the 1948
wing. (The rest of the funding comes from Priority
1 and 2 applications)
Russell School, $530,139
This is the cost to demolish the 1948 wing and renovate
and refurbish the current 1960 wing. This proposal
will take the place of demolishing both wings and
the construction of a 10,000 square foot new addition.
High School, $4,320,314
This amount includes multiple proposed programs for
interior renovations and remodeling to accommodate
needed improvements.
The Committee identified the following programming
needs:
· Science labs (refurbish and add increase
space with current footage for one lab)
· Fine arts (drama, chorus, band space)
· Physical education (lockers, weight room,
gym floor, gym curtain, added PE station)
· Student services (conference room, third
guidance office and record space)
· Food service space (cafeteria)
· Adult education office space
· Special education office space
The Committee recommended the following work:
· Front door and entry lobby
· New administrative suite
· Enclosed hallway from existing cafeteria
to art/music shop area
· New physical education station and gym lobby
· Enlarged east gym
· New cafeteria and stage
· Upgrade locker rooms
· Band & chorus
· Nurse station
· Library infill
· Weight room/concession
· Science classroom upgrades
· Additional bleachers for east gym
Recommendations to date
The Committee recommended that all projects be funded.
They felt that the renovations should be seen as a
package and the High School and Dunn School program
improvements should be included in the Bond. PDT is
re-examining the projects and will make a more definite
cost analysis. As of August 17, it appeared that the
total cost might be approximately $700,000 over the
cost broadly established at the FURC meeting on August
15. The Superintendent recommended that the revised
figures be given to the FURC on August 29 to examine
its position and see if some of the projects should
be prioritized to reach a lower bonding amount. A
final recommendation and presentation will be given
to the public and the Board on September 7.
