CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors discussed options by which it could reduce the expenses involved in its proposed high school expansion project at Monday night’s committee meetings.
Some board members met with the district’s former interim Superintendent Dr. J. Thomas Frantz last Wednesday to review option 9. Frantz told the full board that the proposed plan, which consolidates the district into two buildings, is “right on target.”
Option 9 would relocate the seventh and eighth grades and the district’s administrative offices to the high school campus. CES would expand its grade configuration to Kindergarten through the sixth grades, according to a prior GantDaily report.
Frantz couldn’t identify any issues in the proposed building plans at the CES. However, he questioned the size of the expansion at the high school. He suggested deleting the three-story addition, reducing the new gymnasium from 1,000 to 500 seats and eliminating an office and storage room.
According to him, the three-story addition was “too big” and the existing space at the high school could be used more efficiently. Also, because of student population figures, seven classrooms per subject area wouldn’t be necessary, while teachers could move around and share resources.
“Construction is costly. Renovation is less expensive. I think you could still have a functional building. You don’t want to overbuild . . . You have to determine what’s best for the students, what’s best for the taxpayers and what’s affordable,” Frantz said.
Frantz liked the option’s separation of the seventh and eighth grades from the ninth through twelfth grades. He also said its idea to convert the current auxiliary gymnasium into a two-story administrative office was an excellent use of space.
He believed the building plans were “truly necessary” and once completed the district would benefit from the savings of not having multiple buildings open and not duplicating its services. By consolidating from six school buildings to two, the district could better utilize staff and resources, he said.
J. Greer Hayden of HHSDR Architects and Engineers, the district’s architect, presented his revised option 9 to the board and its impact upon each floor of the high school building based on feedback given after the board members’ meeting with Frantz.
In addition to deleting the three-story addition, reducing the new gymnasium by 500 seats and the size of the high school office, the addition of two life skills classrooms were eliminated from the first floor plan, a technology services area from the second floor plan and chemistry classrooms from the third floor plan.
Previously, construction costs were estimated at $30,383,000 for the high school expansion project, including the district administrative offices, and $7,413,000 for CES. If the district deleted the three-story addition/technology services addition, it stands to save $2,690,000, Hayden said.
He said that reducing the new gymnasium to 500 seats and the size of the high school office addition would save $306,000 and $100,000, respectively. He added if the district deleted total building air conditioning, it could save another $600,000.
If building plans are initiated this month, construction of the maintenance facility at the high school campus could start in November 2011. The maintenance facility could then be occupied in May 2012. If the high school and CES expansion projects are initiated this month or early next, both could get underway next summer.
Hayden indicated construction would be completed in about a year’s time at CES or by August 2013. However, the high school construction wouldn’t be completed for 18 months or until December 2013.
Business Administrator Sam Maney also presented the finalized 2011-12 budget, which must be approved at next Monday’s regular board meeting. Last month, the board casted their votes twice before splitting a 5-4 vote for its tentative approval with a 3-mill property tax increase.
Board members Dave Glass, Mary Anne Jackson, Larry Putt, Susan Mikesell and Tim Morgan all voted in favor during the second roll call vote. Board members Rick Schickling, Jennifer Wallace, Phil Carr and Dr. Michael Spencer opposed the same.
The board’s initial vote sought a 4-mill property tax increase and failed by a 5-4 vote. Voting down the motion were board members Carr, Putt, Schickling, Spencer and Wallace. Board members Glass, Jackson, Morgan and Mikesell were all in favor of the same.
A 3-mill property tax increase generates an additional $366,948 in revenue while increasing millage to 92.84 percent for 2011-12. A 4-mill tax increase would have generated an additional $489,264 in revenue and increased millage to 93.84 percent. The current real estate millage is 89.84 percent.
According to budget paperwork, the proposal anticipates $31,380,476 in total revenue and an expense of $33,106,420, which creates a deficit of $1,725,944 that’ll be covered by its fund balance. A surplus of $661,534 is projected for the current-year with revenue at $35,083,550 versus expenses of $34,422,016.