Johnston School Board Closer to Decisions on New High School, Renovations

Slowly, but surely, the  will finalize plans for the construction and renovation to district buildings.

During a board work session Wednesday, Superintendent Clay Guthmiller said the board would likely vote at its Nov. 14 meeting to proceed with a land purchase and plans to build a new high school while renovating several district buildings.

"The biggest thing is to decide if we will move forward with the high school project, then convert the eighth and ninth grade to the high school building, then it's the issue of repurposing the middle school," Guthmiller said Wednesday.

The project would include:

• A 325,000-square-foot tenth- to 12th- grade high school to hold 1,800 students. The building would come with an estimated $72 to $75 million price tag, without consideration of site acquisition or off-site development expenses.
• Renovations to the current middle school to house students from Wallace Elementary and system updates to the current high school. The renovations would cost an estimated $18 to $21.5 million.

"These are the first two pieces of the puzzle," Guthmiller said. "The use of Wallace will be continued discussion."

Board member John Dutcher asked administrators whose responsibility it would be to connect 106th Street to the proposed location of the new high school.

Guthmiller said the district would open discussions with the city on what could be done in the area.

The  where the high school would be built, located west of Northwest 100th Street and north of Northwest 62nd Avenue, has been through legal issues, Guthmiller said.

Three timelines were presented to the board for bond referendum approval and construction.

The preferred timeline by the administration puts a bond issue on the ballot on Sept. 11, 2012. While it's still unclear what amount of bonds voters would be asked to approve, if a referendum were to pass, construction on the school could begin as soon as July 2013, with completion in July 2015.

A similar timeline keeps the bond vote in September 2012, but construction would start in September 2013 with completion in May 2016.

While this isn't the last meeting to discuss plans for a new high school, additional new construction is also looming.

"None of what we're going through will take away the fact that we'll need another elementary," Guthmiller said.

A sixth elementary could be needed as soon as the 2014-15 school year.

While several questions remain — including an enrollment study, a traffic study of the proposed high school location and final cost estimates for a bond issue —the district is making progress toward facility needs.

The board will next meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, at the District Administrative Center.