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Capital Project Begins To Take Form |
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by Dan Veaner
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Friday, 01 September 2006 |
Wednesday the Lansing school Facilities Group continued their work to try to come up with a passable capital project. In what Superintendent Mark Lewis says was likely to be their second to last meeting, the group considered alternate plans drafted by King & King Architects. The plans depict different ways of solving the problems and issues identified by the committee and school administrators. High School Principal Michelle Stone went over one set of plans, explaining program needs and how new and renovated rooms will help her schedule classes and programs in the over crowded building.
The group is finishing a process that has been rocky over the past five months. A vocal faction has clashed with school employees and parents of school children in every meeting, challenging the project and fighting any impact it will have on school taxes. After a particularly nasty meeting in July the meetings have been more civil to some degree, and despite the strife progress has been made. As the committee nears the end of its task it appears that the new project will be less than half the cost of the one that the Board Of Education (BOE) chose not to bring to a public vote. That project was withdrawn because it was seen as too expensive and not necessarily based on addressing programmatic needs.
The group is still working on defining the 'portfolio' of items that will be included, and the overall cost they feel will be acceptable to district voters. After Stone's presentation of what on the plan would minimally meet her school's needs, Marcy Rosenkrantz noted, "I still need to point out that we're talking as if all of these things are in the portfolio. We still haven't come to that point." Preliminary estimates put the project into the $16 million to $18 million range, though the real estimate won't be available until the scope of the recommendation is finally set and the district's business consultant Bernard Donegan calculates how much State aid the project will qualify for.
 The project may include between eight and a dozen classrooms, a new band/orchestra room, technology space and art classroom as well as reconfigured science rooms. The committee is considering whether it makes sense to build more classrooms, because they increase the project's 'aidability.' Shown is one of several possible configurations being considered. |
Meanwhile committee members are completing homework in which they vote in writing on items to be included, and state opposing viewpoints. Community facilitator Marc Stammer says all opinions will be presented with the committee's recommendation to the BOE, along with costs of differing approaches. Ultimately the BOE will consider the committee's recommendation along with that of the administration before determining exactly what will be put before voters, possibly as soon as this December.
The committee discussed the possibility of splitting a new band room into a separate proposition. "I heard Michelle say that the community will go nuts if we don't build an orchestra room," Tom LaVigne said. "Is it possible to give the community two choices? In the public arena give the taxpayers a choice." Lewis said that the band room could be split into a separate proposition that would only be enacted if the overall project passes as well as the separate one. Architect Kirk Narburgh concurred, saying that school districts often structure capital votes this way.
The next and probably last meeting of the committee is scheduled for September 18th. While the original intent was to have a recommendation to present to the BOE on July 24th, school officials say that a September presentation probably allows enough time to do what needs to be done to prepare for a December vote. That would keep the project from moving into a later construction season, raising costs.
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