North Pike is moving forward with its multimillion-dollar campus expansion plan, with trustees last week narrowing their selection of architectural firms to interview down to two.
The district received four proposals from Pryor & Morrow Architects of Columbus, Bailey Architecture Education of Ridgeland, Cox Architecture of McComb and Wier & Boerner Architecture PLLC of Jackson.
Trustees on Thursday narrowed their selection down to Bailey Architecture Education and Pryor & Morrow.
The school board, along with Superintendent Dennis Penton, will travel to different campuses that the firms have designed. During their tour, trustees will be able to ask questions about designs and talk to the principals and superintendents of the districts to see if they were pleased with the construction and why.
In April, the district decided it would continue with the expansion project but work in phases.
In order to keep up with its growing population, the district plans to take the existing elementary school and make it a fifth-grade wing, build a new elementary school, expand the current high school campus to include a two-story building, build a new band hall and field house, and build a new football stadium on top of a sewage lagoon that will need to be closed.
The district has up to $10.9 million in bond money it can borrow for the work, but doing it all is estimated to cost $25 million.
Trustees are debating on whether to delay some projects, including the construction of the football field.
The district has a contractual agreement with Southwest Mississippi Community College to play all of the 2016 home football games at the college’s John I. Hurst Stadium. The district also has an agreement to connect its sewer lines with Southwest’s infrastructure.
In April, the North Pike advertised for proposals from architects.
“They’re experience is very important. It’s not about the drawing, it’s about the skill,” Penton said. “It’s about the constructional management and how they handle the overall project. Managing construction is the most critical aspect of the architect’s responsibility. They have to make sure everything is going the way it should. The plumbing is correcting and the concrete support for the water to flow through is in place.
“When the brick is put up, they inspect the mortar joints to make sure their correct. The overall design, they make sure its adequate and according to the specs they designed. To me, that’s what makes or breaks an architect.”
He suggested that trustees consider taking a trip to see different schools and the actual work of the architects.
“Look at their track record and some of the styles and keep in mind what was spent on these projects,” Penton said. “There are two types of projects. There’s bare bones, which is limited amount of money, and there’s money burned, which is an unlimited amount of money, and let’s see the difference. You want a building that durable, that’s going to last 50 years. You want it functional, something the community can take pride in viewing, and aesthetically attractive.”
Board president Kevin Matthew said there were some things he’d like the architects to explain, namely extra fees.
“One of them has a fee curve. What is that? What determines what’s hard and what’s not?” Campbell added.
“On a scale of easy to hard, a school is pretty hard,” Matthew said.
“This is not rushed. Once the building is built, it’s built,” Penton said. “We can bring someone in and have them explain what’s in front of you. They may break it down, but I don’t think you’re going to get anything else. You can also go view their work and ask questions then.”
Trustee Etta Taplin agreed with Penton about visiting other schools.
“Let’s go see their work and ask why they did this or why they did that. There’s nothing they can hide then. They have nothing to lose,” she said.
“That way we can ask why they put stuff in certain place,” Matthew said.
Penton said if trustees are not happy with the choices they have, they can go back to the drawing board.
“You’re not tied down to these four. If you feel comfortable with two of the architects, go with those two. If not, then regroup, readvertise and find some more. The whole thing boils down to the fit and finish. It’s the difference between a Pontiac and a Chevy.”
