Printed Press Release:
Over the past several weeks, I have been meeting with community members to present information on the upcoming referendum. To follow are answers to some of the questions that were most frequently asked during these sessions.
Why add an addition rather than repair the primary? This same question was asked early on by members of the Facility Advisory Committee, comprised of retirees, parents with children, parents without children, and grandparents. The recommendation to the School Board from this committee was to build a PK-2 addition on the current 3-12 site, based on site visits, a community survey and the investment needed to maintain and upgrade needed repairs on the current site. The results reveal the community’s preference to invest in an addition to the secondary campus, rather than spend almost as much to make the extensive repairs and remodel needed at the current primary site. The cost to remodel and bring the existing primary site up to code would cost between $8-10 million.
The cost to add on to the 3-12 would cost between $10-12 million. Question #1 on the referendum asks voters to approve $12.2 million. Of that $12.2 million, $1.2 million is for renovations to the grade 7-12 classroom areas (art room expansion, special education, STEM and science). The actual difference between repairing/remodeling and adding on is approximately $2 million. While $2 million is a substantial amount of money, it provides long term advantages that a remodel won’t. There would be operational savings in maintaining one campus versus two, such as snow plowing, grass cutting, instructional time savings from teacher travel (ability to spend more time in the classroom with students), food service costs, and administrative time.
Do we really need another gym? In a word, yes. This area would also incorporate much needed performance space with a stage for our fine arts programs, along with needed storage space. It would also include a more secure entrance to our school. We currently use our 3-12 gym, our primary gym (non- regulation size), and rent gym space at the Arts Center. Even with that, we have several needs that are unmet. Every sport season has varsity, junior varsity, middle school and elementary school athletes. The majority of these sports have both a boys and a girl’s team. Even with some very creative scheduling, we are unable to meet the practice needs of our programs and practices run into the evening. Adding music performances, assemblies and blood drives to this already full gym schedule, further reduces the availability of the space.
Don’t we already have secure entrances? Partially, yes, since all of our exterior doors are locked throughout the school day, but that’s not enough. The security measures that are incorporated into both referendum questions include an additional level of security that includes a human element, along with secure points of entry to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
Why have we already been working with a construction manager? The construction manager, Krause-Anderson, was hired to provide expertise on our facilities. They have worked with many regional school districts and have extensive knowledge in the field of educational facilities. They have been able to provide detailed data and costs to help us make data-based decisions. Initially, the board looked at what it would cost to make the necessary improvements to our existing facilities. After getting that information, they also wanted to know what the cost would be to build a 4K-2 wing onto the existing 3-12 site. Kraus-Anderson has been able to provide factual data based on their extensive knowledge and experience in the industry. Without this relationship, we would not have had the knowledge of building codes, construction costs, permitting, etc. to be able to come to our community with accurate information that provides a knowledge-based cost estimate to make the improvements needed to meet our long-term needs.
If both referendum questions are approved, will operating costs go up? The energy and maintenance costs would go up slightly due to increased square footage. However, these costs would be offset in energy savings, better utilization of staff, reduction in transportation costs, meal service efficiencies and reduced costs in event supervision.
What is the size of our district? Our district covers 152 square miles and, in addition to the city of Shell Lake, includes the townships of Sarona, Madge, Bashaw, Barronett, Dewy, Beaver Brook, Roosevelt and Lakeland.
If approved, when would construction begin? If approved, detailed work with architects would begin immediately. Once all of the designs have been finalized, bids would be solicited in fall 2018 with construction beginning in Spring 2019.
Can local contractors be used? Yes, because Kraus-Anderson is a construction manager, they are able to break down the bidding process allowing local trades to bid on the project. It is important to us to keep as much of the work on this project as local as possible. For additional information on this project, please visit our website www.shelllake.k12.wi.us , visit us on Facebook, or contact David Bridenhagen at the district office 715-468-7816 extension 1309.
Follow this link for the initial FAQ posting, also linked at the left: //www.shelllake.k12.wi.us/UpdateFAQ.pdf
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