RSU 21 Board of Directors considering major renovation projects

Transcription

1 RSU 21 Board of Directors considering major renovation projects On Monday, September 16, the RSU 21 Board reviewed proposals to renovate three schools within the district: Kennebunk High School, Mildred L. Day School, and Kennebunkport Consolidated School. To learn more about each project, take a look at our website, and scroll to the Initiatives section at the bottom of the front page to see how the plan for each school will increase efficiency and security and enhance the learning environment for our students. Kennebunk High School The High School will be fully renovated, creating properly-sized and outfitted instructional spaces for 700 students, an updated and properly located library, an exciting new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) lab, an attractive and comfortable cafeteria, and safe, inviting indoor and outdoor athletic facilities. The building will be brought up to current codes and will house all programs without the need for portable classrooms. This plan will include core spaces (e.g. gymnasium, cafeteria, library) for 750 students, and will preserve and renovate the oldest, most aesthetically pleasing part of the structure the 1939 building while demolishing the area once known as the middle school. We will build new spaces to replace the classrooms in that wing, as well as the smaller, C gymnasium. A stand-alone arts building will be constructed adjacent to the high school, housing the new theater and all visual and performing arts classrooms, leaving room for future expansion pending a $20mm private fundraising campaign. Elevation Views: Restoration of the 1939 building will maintain the beautiful, historic perspective of the school as seen from Fletcher Street. Looking from the current rear parking area, the new portion of the building, with the arts center to the right, will provide functional, attractive spaces for learning.

2 Kennebunk High School First Floor: Admin/Guidance Cafeteria Main Entrance Library New classrooms STEM Lab Replacement C gym and renovated A gym Renovated, preserved 1939 wing Second Floor: This plan allows for possible expansion if our enrollment exceeds 700. New Classrooms Future Expansion

3 High School Visual and Performing Arts Building The high school arts programs will be housed in a stand-alone facility located across an attractive and functional courtyard from the high school proper. In providing such a structure, the opportunity will exist for greater community access and use of the facility, including performers and artists from outside the region. This will provide our students with greater opportunities for learning through mentoring and internships, as well as a greater appreciation for the arts. This building consists of core art spaces only (music, art, theater), and is part of the core high school building project to be funded by taxpayers. Southern Maine Center for the Visual and Performing Arts While the high school proposal was being designed, a small group of passionate citizens crafted a vision for a larger, professional-level performing arts center that would provide educational opportunities for art learners of all ages and abilities, as well as a venue for performances by well-known regional and national artists. The SMCVPA would provide York County with a destination for the arts, boosting tourism, property values, and educational opportunities for our students. The Center would be privately funded through personal and corporate donations and operated by a 501c3 non-profit organization working together with the high school administration. With a fundraising goal of $20mm, a successful campaign could potentially lower the cost to the taxpayers by approximately $5mm, with additional operating costs offset by endowment funding and facilities rental fees.

4 Kennebunkport Consolidated School Site Plan: KCS will be completely renovated, providing a safe, comfortable, appropriately-sized facility with proper traffic patterns for vehicles and pedestrians. The updated structure will meet all current codes for life-safety systems as well as ADA requirements. Energy efficiency will be increased with appropriate insulation, lighting, heating, and electrical systems installed. The need for portable classrooms will be eliminated, the gymnasium will be rebuilt with a fullsized court, and a new music room will be located adjacent to the stage. Functionality for community use will be increased with better parking and sidewalks, as well as more comfortable, spacious rooms. Floor Plan:

5 Mildred L. Day School M.L. Day will undergo significant demolition and renovation, with the primary focus being the replacement of the C and D wings. These areas have experienced significant settling of up to ½ inch per year, with no end in sight. The new structure will provide for greater security, proper vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow, a fullsized gymnasium, a multi-purpose space for school and community use, and appropriately-sized classrooms to house all programs within the school eliminating the need for portable classrooms. All systems will be brought up to current codes, providing a safer, more comfortable learning environment for students and staff. Site Plan: Floor Plan (showing area to be demolished):

6 Frequently Asked Questions What are the basic problems with the schools? Kennebunk High School is educationally and physically obsolete by modern standards, and has difficulty meeting the needs of current programming. All major building systems mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life-safety, building envelope, and security as well as insulation and roofing, are near or beyond the end of their expected life cycles. Thirty-five of the 40 classrooms inside the building, as well as the nine classrooms housed in trailers, are well below the minimum size recommended by the Department of Education. Internal circulation is confusing and chaotic; students must often cross through vehicular traffic to travel from one area of the building to another. Handicap accessibility does not meet current ADA requirements in some parts of the school. The theater is too small, antiquated, and lacks public access. The library is too small and poorly located for student and public access. The stairwells are too narrow for the number of students that must pass through them. The cafeteria is undersized and lacks adequate food preparation areas. The building lacks a sprinkler system and the fire alarm system does not meet current codes. Mildred L. Day School faces many of the same problems as the high school, with outdated life-safety systems and an inadequate, inefficient building envelope. Even more concerning is the fact that the C and D wings, closest to the Turnpike, have been settling since the school was constructed on inadequate soil more than 30 years ago. To date, the lowest corner of the building has settled almost 1.5 feet, creating stress points throughout the building most notably on the trusses that support the roof over the gymnasium and library areas. Kennebunkport Consolidated School is yet another antiquated facility. It lacks appropriate life-safety systems, has inadequate instructional space, lacks appropriate energy systems in many areas, and is in need of safer, more efficient vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns. The programs currently operating at KCS are squeezed into closets and portable classrooms, causing some programs to share space in storage areas. The lack of insulation throughout the building is inefficient and wasteful. Why can t we just fix what is broken and leave the rest? The concerns at each school are pervasive. Many do not lend themselves to band-aid type fixes. Classrooms are too small, public gathering spaces either don t exist or are too small and not easily accessed, heating and electrical and life safety systems function poorly; all of these items point to the need for a complete overhaul of the schools in order to bring them up to current standards and provide our communities with schools that reflect our community values. Why do some people say we can fix the schools for less money? It may be difficult to fully comprehend the extent of the issues that exist at these schools. Simply addressing the electrical or mechanical issues ignores the educational deficits in these buildings. For example, the high school is characterized by a lack of group meeting or presentation spaces, poor circulation patterns, an undersized theater, cafeteria, and library, and poorly constructed wings that currently house English and Art programs. It is the combination of these concerns that render it most appropriate to complete a full renovation of the building. What is the cost, and how will the project impact property taxes? The RSU Board is forwarding to the voters a proposal that would cost the taxpayers approximately $74.8mm, broken down as follows: Kennebunk High School $53.55mm Mildred L. Day School $11.32mm Kennebunkport Consolidated School $9.96mm

7 Clearly, this is a great deal of money. Fortunately, no one will be asked to pay this amount alone, and we will pay the bond back over a twenty-year period at a competitive interest rate. In the highest repayment year, the estimated impact on a taxpayer in each of our towns, based on $100,000 of assessed property value at current valuations would be: In the highest repayment year, the estimated impact on a taxpayer in each of our towns, based on $100,000 of assessed property value would be: Arundel: $136 per year $11.33 per month Kennebunk: $139 per year $11.61 per month Kennebunkport: $122 per year $10.19 per month This amount will be reduced each year of the 25-year bond. Could the repairs and bonds be done in phases to lessen the tax impact? The most cost-effective way to address the multiple health, safety, security, ADA, and programming weaknesses is with one comprehensive renovation plan. To make repairs/renovations over a longer period of time would cost more in the long run, as each smaller project would contribute to a larger cost for planning, administration, oversight, permitting, site-work, materials and labor. In addition, we are expected to enter an economic environment of higher building costs and higher interest rates, making projects even more costly to construct and more costly to finance in the future. Why won t the State help pay for the schools? The State has very limited money designated to school building projects. Although we submitted an application to the State, and KHS scored quite high for a first-time application (ranking 28 th in the state in terms of need), it is not likely that the State will be able to fund more than 10 projects in the next five years. Because of the robust tax base in our district, we are a low receiver of State funds for education. Fortunately, the State has helped considerably in the past, covering the vast majority of costs for the construction of Sea Road School, Middle School of the Kennebunks, and Kennebunk Elementary School within the past twenty-five years. This will be the first time we have taken on a considerable capital project using local funds, following our neighbors in Biddeford, Scarborough, and South Portland in investing in our education infrastructures. What is the difference between the high school arts building and the Southern Maine Center for the Visual and Performing Arts (SMCVPA), and how much will the larger Center cost? As part of the overall vision for Kennebunk High School, the Building Committee has proposed construction of a standalong visual and performing arts center on the campus of KHS. At a minimum, the arts building will house the high school theater, music, and visual arts programs. The cost for construction of this building is included in the $53.55mm estimate for the high school project. The SMCVPA will be a privately-funded and operated expansion of the high school arts building, with professional-level acoustic and lighting treatments. Because the SMCVPA will be funded by $20mm in private donations, successful completion of the fundraising goal could potentially lower the cost of the high school project to the taxpayers by approximately $5.2mm. SCENARIO A : KHS Arts Building: $9,950,000 All other KHS: $43,600,000 TOTAL taxpayer responsibility: $53,550,000 SCENARIO B: Southern Maine Center for the Visual and Performing Arts: $24,800,000 All other KHS: $43,600,000 Grand total KHS + SMCVPA $68,400,000 Deduct $20,000,000 in private funding ($20,000,000) TOTAL taxpayer responsibility: $48,400,000

8 Why don t we close M.L. Day and/or Consolidated School and build one bigger school? When the state forced school districts to consolidate several years ago, the law was written to protect a school that is the only school in town. Likewise, the planning committee that led the effort to join Arundel and MSAD 71 to form RSU 21 made a commitment to keep a school in each community, protecting those schools with language that was approved by the voters in all three towns when the RSU was formed. By law, the citizens of a town must vote in favor if a school is to close, and even if they vote to do so, a change would occur in our funding formula that would create more costs for the communities that are not closing a school. The district is addressing the potential that we could close a school in the future by planning to house all Kennebunk students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 at KES when enrollment allows, thereby closing Sea Road School to address the concern that the district has too much space. What if the bond does not pass? Delaying these projects will increase the likelihood that the buildings will not be appropriate for the level of programming we hope to offer students. Inadequate school facilities will not meet the educational needs of our students nor contribute positively to property values in the district, and our high school accreditation could be jeopardized. These projects will need to be done at some point, and each delay will increase the cost considerably. Now is the time to ensure that our students learning spaces are safe, comfortable, and programmatically appropriate. Follow our progress!