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Three options are available to Warsaw Community Schools for addressing problems in old or overcrowded schools, but no decisions were made Monday.
At a special meeting at Warsaw Community High School, the Warsaw school board heard the report by representatives of Odle, McGuire & Shook Corp. on the feasibility study of Atwood, Claypool, Jefferson and Silver Lake elementaries, and on upgrades for WCHS.
Option A, according to Don Pennington, educational planner for Odle, McGuire & Shook, is to renovate Atwood, Claypool, Silver Lake and Jefferson, with the capacity of 160 students each for Atwood, Claypool and Silver Lake, and 320 students for Jefferson. Total project costs for this option would be: Atwood - $6.59 million; Claypool - $3.18 million; Silver Lake - $7.59 million; and Jefferson - $3.095 million.
Option B, Pennington said, would be to expand Claypool Elementary to a three-section school, meaning it would have the capacity for three classrooms for each grade, and for 450 students. That cost would be $9.03 million, he said.
Option C would be to build one or more new schools. Costs for a new school, depending on the number of students it could hold, would be $8.295 million for 300 students, $13.165 million for 450 students and $15.1 million for 600 students.
Upgrades for the high school would include a 1,000-seat auditorium; an eight-lane track; a football stadium with seating for 4,500, lockers, concessions and rest rooms; a weight/wrestling room; a band and performing arts practice room; varsity and JV softball and soccer areas; and exterior facilities, such as practice fields, marching band practice areas and connecting roads.
No costs were given for the high school upgrades.
The goals for the feasibility study, according to Duane Odle, were equity in educational programming, services and facilities; enrollment balance; effectiveness and efficiency; and impartial allocation of fiscal resources.
Efficiency of operations and educational equity among schools were stressed by Pennington.
"The school corporation does need to be concerned about efficiency of operations," he said. "Whatever plan is selected, it should be the best decision for the long-term solution ... for addressing the educational needs and equity for all schools in Warsaw Community Schools."
School board member Roy Szymanski asked if the renovation and construction figures were solid or would be adjusted later.
Matthew Mayol, an architect for Odle, McGuire & Shook, said the amounts "are not-to-exceed numbers, as long as the scope doesn't change." He also said the figures are based on 2003 construction costs and have a 10 percent contingency built in.
The timeline, he said, depending on the project, would be a minimum of two to three years from the date of the decision being made to project completion.
In response to a parent who asked if some students would be moved to other schools, Pennington said, "The school district is going to have to consider re-defining attendance boundaries."
Gene England, former principal of Silver Lake Elementary, asked why the schools were compared to Eisenhower, and Pennington said it was because Eisenhower and Harrison were the most recent schools built.
The ultimate state authority on school buildings, Pennington said, is the State Board of Tax Commissioners' School Property Tax Control Board, who, he said, are not receptive to a new school that includes less than three sections.
Parent Mary Jo Coppes asked what the control board primarily looks at, and Pennington said, "They're looking at efficiency - effective and efficient buildings."
Craig Allebach, president of the school board, said the board will now hold public work sessions, similar to those previously held at Silver Lake and Atwood schools, starting in September. Those meetings will be separate from regular school board meetings, he said.
The complete feasibility study will be available to the public starting at noon Thursday, Allebach said, and can be checked out from the WCS administration offices. He also said they intend to put the information on the WCS Web site.
