Warsaw School Board Looks To Consulting Services For Possible Building Campaign Referendum
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw Community Schools is looking at a potential capital building campaign referendum in May. Monday night, the school board approved entering into a contract with Steve Klink, of First Tuesday Communication, for $55,000, to provide consulting services leading up to the possible referendum. After the school board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott said a committee would be formed to raise the $55,000 so that no school corporation monies paid for the consulting services. Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz reminded the board that about a year ago the board commissioned a study to look at all the facilities in the corporation. On June 25, 2012, the board awarded Kovert Hawkins the bid for the facilities assessment for $74,000. Kovert Hawkins also was the architectural company behind the four new elementary schools. On Sept. 11, 2012, Kovert Hawkins architects James Lake and Matthew D. Gullo presented their “vision” of what WCS needs to do and could do with its facilities to improve them. If all the suggestions were approved, the price tag would be approximately $110.6 million for construction plus soft costs of 30 percent. Of the suggestions, Hintz told the board the possible referendum would focus on Lincoln and Washington elementary schools, Edgewood Middle School, the Warsaw Area Career Center and Warsaw Community High School. He did not indicate, however, what would be done at each building. The Kovert Hawkins report lumped WCHS, WACC, Washington Elementary, Edgewood Middle School and the Central Education Services into a “campus.” It suggested additional parking and better access is needed. Also, the central office should be relocated as it creates an awkward entry off Ind. 15. Edgewood and Washington could be consolidated into an OrthoWorx Junior STEM Academy, which also would free up space on the campus. At WCHS and WACC, Kovert suggested relocating the varsity baseball field, adding a new fieldhouse onto the Tiger Den so the WACC could make use of the Career Center gym, and adding the Senior STEM Academy. Edgewood was built in 1975, but has not been touched since, Lake said. It’s at 98 percent capacity, according to the 2012 report. To bring Edgewood up to current standards and needs, Lake said the cost would exceed building a new one. As for Lincoln, Kovert Hawkins’ report said it was WCS’s most in-need building. Built in 1959 with additions in 1977, Lake said Lincoln was at 97 percent capacity at the time of the report. Kovert’s suggestion was to build a new two-story Lincoln where the field on the property is now, and tear down the current school building. “At this time, we don’t have a projected cost for the construction or activities,” Hintz indicated last night. According to Kovert Hawkins’ 2012 facilities assessment, the estimated costs then were $7.8 million for the OrthoWorx Senior STEM Academy; $15.8 million for WACC renovations; $29 million for WCHS renovations; $650,000 for demolishing Edgewood; $31.7 million for the OrthoWorx Junior STEM Academy; and $24.4 million for Lincoln.
