Board considers major projects

The board's next meeting will be June 26.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- One theme consistent on many comment cards submitted after a meeting on proposed school construction projects was replacement of Center Middle School.
But that wasn't one of the projects proposed, and to replace the school could cost several million dollars.
At a school board meeting earlier this month, residents learned about an effort to improve and renovate district school buildings. That plan, involving work at all the buildings, is projected to cost anywhere from $34 million to $57 million.
The school board will likely borrow the money through the sale of bonds to finance the project and a bond issue will probably appear on the November ballot.
Board members haven't yet voted to seek the bond issue nor decided what the millage would be.
Comments
Architectural firms reviewed some of their recommendations and the costs for the board and the public at the meeting. Those who attended were asked to submit comment cards indicating their views on what renovations are needed.
"Quite a few indicated that they'd like to see the Center Middle School building replaced," said Superintendent Frank Lazzeri said.
The architects who looked at the middle school proposed a new entrance and relocation of the cafeteria.
"A lot of the people said that if you're going to spend $2 million or $3 million on the building, why don't you just replace it," Lazzeri said. "We saw that 10 to 12 times on the comment cards."
The cost to replace the middle school -- the former high school built in 1911 -- would run between $15 million and $20 million, the superintendent estimated.
Lazzeri has asked principals to prioritize what's important in their buildings. That information will be forwarded to board members, who will decide how large a project to pursue.
The board's next meeting is June 26. "The board has some weighty decisions to make," Lazzeri added.
District personnel began studying the facilities more than a year ago, conducting meetings with teachers, staff and parents to identify what they view as each building's needs.
Earlier this year, the board hired three architectural firms to examine the facilities and determine work costs. Proposals from the firms addressed all the district's school buildings.
Some proposals
Center Middle School is the district's oldest building; the high school, built in 1969, is the newest.
The elementary school proposals entail additional classrooms, improved technology spaces and media centers and better handicapped accessibility.
The elementary and middle schools proposals also include creating areas to allow separation between where parents drop off and pick up their children and bus loading and unloading sites. The proposals at the high school range from $7 million to $13 million depending on the extent of the project.
Recommendations include additional parking and construction of a turn lane from the school on to Market Street, creation of an auxiliary gymnasium, and improvements at the school stadium to enable football games to be played there. Games currently are played at Spartan Stadium behind Center Middle School.
The architects who studied the high school presented three ideas for the auxiliary gym. The first would include three regulation basketball courts with a multipurpose floor, a coaches' suite and wrestling facility. The second offers a larger wrestling space, while the third calls for an indoor competitive running track with spectator seating and an eight-lane swimming pool and wrestling facility.