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GCHS dominates facility talk
Published 10/29/2007 in News : Education By Emily Behlmann
Voters are likely to see a school bond issue on an upcoming ballot, but USD 457 Board of Education members are split on whether it should pay for a second high school or a new, bigger one to house all of the district's high school students.
The board met Saturday morning to work on a long-range, district-wide facility plan. Issues at Garden City High School dominated the agenda.
GCHS has been the subject of discussion in recent months for a study group of USD 457 staff, students and community members. Administrators say the building is overcrowded with inadequate science labs, vocational classrooms, music rooms, gymnasiums, locker rooms, athletic practice fields and other facilities.
Board members Bruce Reichmuth, John Scheopner and Mike Utz said Saturday they favored one of two recommendations from the study group -- a second high school with space for at least 1,100 students, a little more than half GCHS's population.
However, Tom Blackburn, Jeff Crist and George Hopkins thought the best way forward was with the study group's other option -- a new high school with capacity for 2,250 students and room for expansion.
Board member Gail Dunford was unable to attend.
A broader plan
GCHS isn't the only Garden City school district staff say is short on space.
Several schools, including GCHS, rely on mobile classrooms for classes that don't fit in the building. The high school has 11 mobile classrooms, Kenneth Henderson Middle School has eight, Abe Hubert Middle School has seven and Georgia Matthews Elementary School has two, Deputy Superintendent Steve Karlin said.
Eliminating need for these trailers was among criteria the board approved at the outset of its planning process Saturday. Other criteria included enhancing security, providing adequate space for programs and considering optimal school size.
Assistant Superintendent Shelly Kiblinger also recommended keeping school-to-school transitions to a minimum. She led a committee that tried to determine the "optimal learning environment for our students."
"The research is clear on the impact of transitions," she said. "It's not good for them."
In addition, Kiblinger said, all teachers should be provided with a classroom of their own. She said the fact that 14 GCHS teachers travel from room to room on a cart, and that many elementary art, music and writing teachers lack their own rooms, "is detrimental to our students" because the appropriate learning environment can't be established.
Ideally, the district also would reduce class size, she said. Her committee's research indicated that the best plan would cap class size at 15 students through second grade, and at 18 for third through eighth grade.
Currently, elementary classes average 22 students, according to Financial Officer Kathleen Whitley, who belongs to a committee that studies facility planning.
Whitley said it would take at least 14 new classrooms to give every elementary teacher a room at the elementary level.
To reduce class size by one student would require one additional room per grade level, she said.
There is room to expand at Buffalo Jones, Edith Scheuerman and Gertrude Walker elementary schools, Whitley said.
At the middle school level, Whitley's committee recommended adding on to Kenneth Henderson Middle School to eliminate the modular classrooms.
The high school needs 24 classrooms to eliminate trailers and give everyone a classroom, according to an August report from administrators.
Superintendent Rick Atha said an answer to the high school discussion would be a start to working out "a blueprint for the district to follow that I hope covers us for more than 15 years."
"I believe the high school is key," he said. "Whatever the board's decision is on the high school, that could trickle down to the rest of facilities."
Weighing pros and cons
The trickle-down effect was one reason Hopkins said he supported a new, single high school.
He said the plan would vacate the current school, opening opportunities like one suggested by Atha: Turn J.D. Adams Hall into an alternative school, move Abe Hubert Middle School students into the main high school building and convert Abe Hubert into a new elementary school.
Hopkins also said he was concerned that if students were split among two high schools, the current facility would be inadequate "for a 21st-century education." Indeed, it would need to be upgraded to provide better science labs and other facilities, said Craig Wheeler, co-chairman of the GCHS study group.
A brand new high school would provide opportunities for the average student, like subject-based learning groups that would give the school a smaller feel, Blackburn said.
Kiblinger said the concept might be a good next step for USD 457.
"If we have a blank sheet of paper, we can really go to this learning community idea that meets the needs of a lot of kids," Blackburn said.
However, Utz said, he thought the district ought to establish two smaller schools, instead of just creating the feel. He indicated a one-high-school plan might not be long-term, as that school could be outgrown, too.
A second high school would provide more opportunities for student involvement, which could reduce the drop-out rate, he said.
Scheopner said a smaller school also would allow staff to develop stronger relationships with students.
Community acceptance
Those favoring two high schools acknowledged the community has twice voted down such proposals, though Utz said that much has changed in education since the most recent vote in 2000.
That year and in 1998, some opponents said having two schools would divide the community.
"We have to look at what the community would accept, and I think that's a single high school," Crist said.
Both plans would increase taxes by an undetermined amount. Stewart Nelson, an architect with Gibson, Mancini, Carmichael and Nelson, provided some preliminary estimates to begin discussion.
He estimated that a new high school for 2,250, with room for expansion to 2,500, would cost about $160 to $165 per square foot at today's costs. At just more than 390,000 square feet, the building -- not including athletic facilities, land purchase or architect fees -- would cost between $60 and $80 million depending on when it was constructed during the next several years.
Predictions are based on a 6-percent inflation rate, though rates have varied widely in recent years.
A second high school would be smaller -- about 220,000 square feet for 1,100 students -- but still would include costly areas like kitchens, making cost per square foot slightly higher, Nelson said. He estimated a second, smaller high school would total $35 to $40 million, depending on when it's constructed.
Upgrades to the current high school would come at additional costs. Adding locker rooms, training and weight rooms, storage to music buildings, restrooms, science labs and a concession stand, plus remodeling a few rooms, would up costs by several million dollars, according to Nelson's estimates.
New athletic facilities would add to the price tag under both plans, as would other district projects like expansion of middle schools or elementary schools.
The increase taxpayers would see would vary depending on whether USD 457 decided to pay off the bond in a 10-year or 20-year period, Whitley said. For every $10 million bonded, residents would see their taxes increase by 2.4 mills for a 10-year period, or by 1.46 mills in the course of a 20-year period, assuming constant assessed valuation.
The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $27.62 per year more on a 10-year bond, or $16.76 on a 20-year bond -- for each $10 million in the bond issue.
Atha said the soonest the district would place a bond issue would be November 2008.
The board plans to continue discussing facilities issues at its regular meetings. Tonight's meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
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