WCS Board Hears From SOS Architect
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Debate on whether or not to close Silver Lake Elementary took another turn Monday when an architect hired by Save Our School and the Historic Landmarks Foundation made a preliminary report to the Warsaw School Board.
Gregory A. Kil, of Kil Architecture and Planning, South Bend, said he expects to have his final report ready for the board at the Jan. 10 public work session.
He said he has inspected Silver Lake Elementary once and expects to go back again. According to his inspection and his review of the original report done by Odle McGuire & Shook Corp., he said the new construction costs quoted by Odle McGuire & Shook "seem to be in line" at approximately $110 per square foot. However, he said, "The remodeling costs seem to be very much at the upper end of what we would see for remodeling."
Based on similar projects, Kil said, remodeling costs usually run in the range of $40-$60. Estimates by Odle McGuire & Shook for Silver Lake School are in the $90 range, he said.
Board member Larry Chamberlain asked one of the few questions from the school board, and that was about Kil's mention of an 18,000-square-foot addition to the school.
Kil said his focus will be on the main building, but that he will consider an addition.
Board member Brad Brail asked if the current building is in compliance with state code. Kil said it does meet state requirements now, but if changes in the structure are made during remodeling, different codes would apply.
Lisa McCoy, spokeswoman for SOS, said the group will look at both architect reports and come up with their own proposal.
"We want to come up with a plan that Silver Lake would be happy with," she said. "It may be different than what Odle McGuire & Shook came up with. We will pick and choose what we want to see and then offer that."
No other board members asked questions, made comments or offered information to Kil.
The board also unanimously agreed that Jan. 10 will be the last meeting specifically to discuss the proposed building program, and that further discussion of the issue will take place during public comment times at regular board meetings.
"I'm comfortable with recommending that that (Jan. 10) be our last public work session pertinent to the facilities study," Chamberlain said.
"If the need arises that we need more room, then we can change the place," said board president Craig Allebach.
The board also unanimously agreed, at the suggestion Brail, that when the time comes to make a decision on the building program, they will propose their solution one month and not vote on it until the next monthly meeting.
"I don't want the public perception that we're going to slip it in as an agenda item," Brail said.
In other business, the board:
• Unanimously approved spending $418,520 at Kerlin Bus Sales for eight 66-passenger school buses, including one with a wheelchair lift. The total, which was the lowest of three bids, includes a trade-in allowance of $36,000 and a discount of $500 per bus, or $4,000.
• Approved Dan Graney, now a fifth-grade teacher at Harrison Elementary, as interim principal at Lincoln Elementary for the rest of the school year.
• Noted that Warsaw Community High School was listed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as a "best buy" high school in the state. Of the 347 high schools in Indiana, said superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, 111 were listed as best buys based on SAT scores and percentage of students taking the SATs, graduation and attendance rates, at-risk factors, ISTEP 2000 scores and expenditures per student.
WCHS joins Triton Jr.-Sr. High School and Wawasee High School on the best buy list.
• Heard Harman's report that enrollment as of Monday was 6,345 students in all schools, approximately 45 more students than last year at this time.
• Heard a report from Dave Fulkerson, athletic director at WCHS, on the procedures manual for Warsaw Community Pool, and on use of the pool by students and by the public.
According to Fulkerson and instructor Chris LaLonde, the pool opens at 5 a.m. daily and is open until 9 p.m. Senior citizens may swim before school hours begin at 7:40 a.m., and the pool is open to the public from 7 to 9 p.m. daily, with a cost of 50 cents per person. Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. the public may swim for free.
• Heard a report by Harrison Elementary students on the process they go through to work on written expression. The students described the process of brainstorming, coming up with ideas, drafting the story, working with partners and publishing and sharing their stories.
• Approved incorporating the "40 developmental assets" in curriculum whenever possible. The assets include parental involvement in schooling, a caring school climate, helping students feel safe at school, providing clear rules and consequences and encouraging and expecting students to do their best.
• Heard a report by Tammy Ummel, director of special services, on the North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative. The NCI Co-op serves 1,884 students in Bremen, Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko school corporations, including 808 students in Warsaw schools, Ummel said.
The largest group, 331 students, now served in Warsaw, she said, have learning disabilities, with the next two largest group being communication disorders (206 students) and mental disabilities (120 students). The fastest growing group in Warsaw and in the United States, Ummel said, is autistic students.
School board members are: Craig Allebach, president, Brad Brail, Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, James Folk, Charles Sauders and Roy Szymanski. The board will meet next in a public work session Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Edgewood Middle School. [[In-content Ad]]
Debate on whether or not to close Silver Lake Elementary took another turn Monday when an architect hired by Save Our School and the Historic Landmarks Foundation made a preliminary report to the Warsaw School Board.
Gregory A. Kil, of Kil Architecture and Planning, South Bend, said he expects to have his final report ready for the board at the Jan. 10 public work session.
He said he has inspected Silver Lake Elementary once and expects to go back again. According to his inspection and his review of the original report done by Odle McGuire & Shook Corp., he said the new construction costs quoted by Odle McGuire & Shook "seem to be in line" at approximately $110 per square foot. However, he said, "The remodeling costs seem to be very much at the upper end of what we would see for remodeling."
Based on similar projects, Kil said, remodeling costs usually run in the range of $40-$60. Estimates by Odle McGuire & Shook for Silver Lake School are in the $90 range, he said.
Board member Larry Chamberlain asked one of the few questions from the school board, and that was about Kil's mention of an 18,000-square-foot addition to the school.
Kil said his focus will be on the main building, but that he will consider an addition.
Board member Brad Brail asked if the current building is in compliance with state code. Kil said it does meet state requirements now, but if changes in the structure are made during remodeling, different codes would apply.
Lisa McCoy, spokeswoman for SOS, said the group will look at both architect reports and come up with their own proposal.
"We want to come up with a plan that Silver Lake would be happy with," she said. "It may be different than what Odle McGuire & Shook came up with. We will pick and choose what we want to see and then offer that."
No other board members asked questions, made comments or offered information to Kil.
The board also unanimously agreed that Jan. 10 will be the last meeting specifically to discuss the proposed building program, and that further discussion of the issue will take place during public comment times at regular board meetings.
"I'm comfortable with recommending that that (Jan. 10) be our last public work session pertinent to the facilities study," Chamberlain said.
"If the need arises that we need more room, then we can change the place," said board president Craig Allebach.
The board also unanimously agreed, at the suggestion Brail, that when the time comes to make a decision on the building program, they will propose their solution one month and not vote on it until the next monthly meeting.
"I don't want the public perception that we're going to slip it in as an agenda item," Brail said.
In other business, the board:
• Unanimously approved spending $418,520 at Kerlin Bus Sales for eight 66-passenger school buses, including one with a wheelchair lift. The total, which was the lowest of three bids, includes a trade-in allowance of $36,000 and a discount of $500 per bus, or $4,000.
• Approved Dan Graney, now a fifth-grade teacher at Harrison Elementary, as interim principal at Lincoln Elementary for the rest of the school year.
• Noted that Warsaw Community High School was listed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as a "best buy" high school in the state. Of the 347 high schools in Indiana, said superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, 111 were listed as best buys based on SAT scores and percentage of students taking the SATs, graduation and attendance rates, at-risk factors, ISTEP 2000 scores and expenditures per student.
WCHS joins Triton Jr.-Sr. High School and Wawasee High School on the best buy list.
• Heard Harman's report that enrollment as of Monday was 6,345 students in all schools, approximately 45 more students than last year at this time.
• Heard a report from Dave Fulkerson, athletic director at WCHS, on the procedures manual for Warsaw Community Pool, and on use of the pool by students and by the public.
According to Fulkerson and instructor Chris LaLonde, the pool opens at 5 a.m. daily and is open until 9 p.m. Senior citizens may swim before school hours begin at 7:40 a.m., and the pool is open to the public from 7 to 9 p.m. daily, with a cost of 50 cents per person. Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. the public may swim for free.
• Heard a report by Harrison Elementary students on the process they go through to work on written expression. The students described the process of brainstorming, coming up with ideas, drafting the story, working with partners and publishing and sharing their stories.
• Approved incorporating the "40 developmental assets" in curriculum whenever possible. The assets include parental involvement in schooling, a caring school climate, helping students feel safe at school, providing clear rules and consequences and encouraging and expecting students to do their best.
• Heard a report by Tammy Ummel, director of special services, on the North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative. The NCI Co-op serves 1,884 students in Bremen, Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko school corporations, including 808 students in Warsaw schools, Ummel said.
The largest group, 331 students, now served in Warsaw, she said, have learning disabilities, with the next two largest group being communication disorders (206 students) and mental disabilities (120 students). The fastest growing group in Warsaw and in the United States, Ummel said, is autistic students.
School board members are: Craig Allebach, president, Brad Brail, Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, James Folk, Charles Sauders and Roy Szymanski. The board will meet next in a public work session Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Edgewood Middle School. [[In-content Ad]]