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Southwest hopes new high school building done this fall
BARTLEY -- Southwest Public Schools' junior and senior high students will move into their new building in Bartley this fall.
Construction is a couple of weeks behind schedule now, Superintendent Dave Hendricks said in the middle of January, so students may start class in August in the old two-story brick building in Bartley and then transfer into the new when it's done.
"We'll start in the old Bartley school if the new building isn't ready," Hendricks said. "We will not start school at the current high school site" west of Indianola. Pre-kindergarten through sixth grade will attend class in the Indianola attendance center this fall.
Hendricks is excited about the new building, and the enhanced learning environment it will provide for students. While the current buildings were excellent for education when they were built, in the 1920s and '30s, he said, they are not conducive to, nor can they be remodeled to meet, the educational and accessibility needs of all of today's students.
Hendricks knows that facilities are not the only consideration, that teachers and staff play a very vital role in the educational equation. But a comfortable, up-to-date facility can make learning and teaching easier and more enjoyable, he said.
Elevations were shot and stakes set March 8 and Adams Construction of Arapahoe started moving dirt March 14 for Southwest Public Schools' new 7-12 junior-senior high on the north edge of Bartley, north of the brick building now housing sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
School patrons celebrated the project with an official groundbreaking ceremony May 7.
The "academic wing" of the new building includes classrooms, the library, distance learning and media center and guidance and administrative offices. The center area includes more classrooms, the commons area, auditorium and ag workshops. The full-prep kitchen, gym, locker rooms and wrestling and weight rooms dominate the south wing.
The front entrance will be visible through windows in the main office, and is identified by a graceful, sweeping stone-colored stucco wall.
The weather challenged construction early in the project, as thunderstorms dumped seven to eight inches of rain just as the dirt-work was finished. "That, and some sub-contractor scheduling, put us behind 30 days," Hendricks said. But a relatively mild and dry winter has allowed contractors to catch up by about two weeks, he said. Work progresses inside where the roof is finished, he said.
New student and teacher's desks will be purchased with funds that the school district has been setting aside for three years in a depreciation fund.
In March 2003, voters approved the merger of the Twin Valley and Republican Valley school districts to create "Southwest Public Schools," and okayed a $7 million bond to build a new junior/senior high facility in Bartley. Lawsuits challenging the bond delayed construction for five years, but did not stop the collection of real estate taxes. The school district had $1.8 million in the bank for construction before the project started.
However, the delays ultimately meant that the building designed in 2002/2003 couldn't be built for the same amount of money in 2008, and bids came in at $9.3 million.
Hendricks said the board accepted Sampson Construction's bid, with the provision that project costs could be ratified and some aspects eliminated to make it possible for the school district to enter into a final contract.
The most noticeable change, he said, was the elimination of the sunken gym. Raising the gym to ground level saved the school district $700,000, Hendricks said. Although approximately $400,000 was cut throughout the building, the square footage remained the same. "We made some compromises," Hendricks said, "but we retained the original quality," and the bid was finalized at $8.3 million.
"The original $7 million bond did not cover the total cost of construction," Hendricks said. "We had to come up with $1.3 million."
Hendricks said the board approved the use of a "qualified capital improvement fund," and approved an additional $1.3 million bond that adds 5.2 cents to the school tax levy for 10 years. An additional $200,000 can be tapped in the district's special building fund.
The original $7 million bond adds 18 cents to the school levy for 15 years, and the $1.3 million bond adds 5 cents to the levy for 10 years, Hendricks said.
Hendricks said it's hoped construction in Bartley will be done by the end of August or early September. "We plan to occupy the new Bartley facility this fall," he said, even if students have to start class in the existing two-story brick building now being used by sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
"We will vacate the current high school (west of Indianola) at the end of the school year in May," Hendricks said. "We will not start school out there." The board has plans to dispose of it, Hendricks said. "We will not hold onto it."
This fall, sixth grade will be moved to Indianola, and seventh through 12th grade will be in Bartley.
The board has plans to dispose of the high school site this spring, and the old Bartley two-story building when it is no longer needed this fall. Hendricks said the board has made no decisions regarding the newer single-story classroom building and outbuildings in Bartley.
Hendricks encourages patrons to tour the new Bartley facility; check into his office first.