North Pike school trustees and architect Gary Bailey started getting down to brass tacks on some of the projects being funded by the $11.25 million bond approved last month by district voters.
Bailey said the district should work first on its larger projects — a new upper elementary building, and expansion of the band hall and four new classrooms at the high school — leaving new entrances and renovations at the elementary and middle schools for consideration after the other projects go out for bid.
The plans Bailey presented at Thursday’s board meeting were fleshed out more compared to those presented before the March bond referendum.
For the upper elementary school, a metal building with a brick or stonelike facade and standing-seam roof is planned.
Its 22 classrooms will be 750 square feet each, arranged in two wings jutting off the main part of the building.
The main branch of the building will have the office, as well as music and art classrooms, a computer lab and a library.
As a metal building, its life is "less than brick. Eventually, it will break down," Bailey said. But, "if you catch rust and keep it painted, it could last forever."
A finished cement floor could save money over applying tile.
“It would save 50 to 75 cents per square foot,” Bailey said. “The building is about 50,000 square feet, so you’d save about $35,000.”
Bailey offered two facade designs for the front, one a classic gabled entrance with a sloping canopy over the front walkway supported by brick columns. The other suggestion was a more contemporary, squarish design, with a flat canopy supported by narrow squared brick arches.
Trustees opted for the classic design.
The existing band hall is set to get a new skin to go along with the expansion rehearsal hall, and the entire building will get a new roof.
Inside, part of the existing band hall will become locker rooms and bathrooms, and another area planned for storage will have a wash basin for equipment added.
The outside of the high school’s four-classroom addition will be matched to the adjacent buildings to give the illusion of one building instead of three. Utility lines will have to be moved before construction begins.
Bailey is aiming to have the high school’s band hall and classroom projects ready to bid out in June and award in July. The upper elementary project is planned for bidding out in September.
Trustees voiced concerns about the narrow road that skirts the east and south sides of the school property, and would be the traffic access or the upper elementary school.
“We’re going to be putting buses on that road, and it’s got potholes from regular traffic,” board President Scott Campbell said.
Superintendent Dennis Penton said he discussed widening and improving the road with the board of supervisors.
