Total cost estimate.....

WISE "? At the very end of a three-hour meeting that included detailed presentations by four architecture firms, county schools Finance Director Ron Vicars gave school board members the price tag for renovating all six county high schools "? $109.4 million.

That number includes about $28.9 million in upgrades to J.J. Kelly High School, $19.9 million for Powell Valley, $18.5 million for Appalachia, $17.75 for Coeburn, $16 million for Pound and $7 million for the county's newest high school, St. Paul.

The audience of about 40 local officials, citizens, teachers and principals erupted in slight murmuring after the number was announced. Board members didn't discuss the plans or the price tag, adjourning the meeting immediately after the financial presentation.

Schools Superintendent Greg Killough said after the meeting that he expects board members to have a workshop meeting to discuss all of the details and prioritize the schools' needs, perhaps as soon as March. He added that he might hire a facilitator for those meetings, like the one the school system hired for a school board retreat in early 2006.

"I asked the architects to give me nothing that's a want, just needs,"? Killough said. "But there are levels of needs,"? he added, noting that board members still have a lot to think about.

During about three hours of back-to-back floor plan presentations, architects from Thompson & Litton Inc., Appalachian Technical Services, Beeson Lusk & Street and Oliver Webb Pappas & Rhudy all took special care to point out that the majority of the cost comes from renovating the existing buildings, not the new additions they're proposing.

School officials noted that a Power Point presentation, including floor plans for all schools, will be posted on the county schools Web site, at www.wise.k12.va.us.

NEEDS VS. WANTS
John Ponish of ATS, the firm that studied Appalachia High School, noted during his presentation that all of the architects were presenting the same thing "? renovations that are needed to keep the schools open and operating for 25-30 years.

"What you have here is a very thorough evaluation of what's needed for these schools,"? Ponish said. "What's actually put in comes next. Now you evaluate whether we can incorporate all of the needs, or re-evaluate the standards the board has set."?

Ponish, like several other architects who made presentations, stressed that all of the additions and improvements were based on a strict set of guidelines, approved by the school board in June 2006, and all were based on actual programs in the schools' needs.

Bill Thompson also noted that his firm, T&L, which studied Coeburn, J.J. Kelly and Pound, made a conscious effort to be conservative.

"Our goal was to be responsive to the programs, but not extravagant,"? Thompson said, noting that architects tried to build their recommendations around a scheduling system that would make the best use of each school's classrooms.

COST ANALYSIS, LONGVIEW
Architects also provided school administrators with percentage breakdowns of where the money will go, divided into categories of site development, building additions, renovations, plumbing, mechanical systems, electrical upgrades, sprinkler systems and contingency funds.

In addition, the school system provided a packet of information to media, board members and members of the public that included price projections for how much proposed improvements would cost in 2010 and 2012, at a six percent annual escalation in price. By 2010, the renovations would cost $122.9 million, and by 2012, the price would rise to an estimated $138 million.

(Information via Coalfield.com)

ok, so how much would it cost to build 2 or 3 new schools that will last for 50 - 70 years? just curious because I've not kept up with all the numbers that have been thrown out

We would need a New Study to answer that [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]


The price tag was actualy less than I expected It will be interesting to see what the SB can do to cut that number down a bit more

am i reasding this correctly...$17.75 for coeburn? [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Killough is quoted in the KTN, and reading between the lines, I say that he is introducing consolidation through the back door.

the way is see it is he will propose that allt hese schools get renovated. appy, pound, and st paul will get nothing. jjk pv and coe. will get renovated 1st. after that he will say we dont ahve enough money and then be forced to consolodate. i mean seriously it HAS to be done. If it is done then jjk would have around 700, pv around 600 and coeburn around 500. all schools would still be single A and everyone will still be happy.

BTW what was the quote?

I agree that all the schools need updates but why not build new ones. It is a shame that the schools don't even have air conditioning. However, that is a lot of money to put into old buildings that will need more updates on a regular basis. I think some of the money should be spent on the schools rather than all these studies which lead back to consolidation. Wonder who will be the scapegoat this time now that Basham is gone?????

I wonder what the cost of building three new schools would be or 6 new schools?

another thing that really needs to have a deep look into is what happens if they sink all this money into the 6 schools we have now and in 10-15 years from now they have to consolidate anyway and build new schools or at the very least sink even more money adding on to the schools that will house and be considered the "new school". then haven't we wasted a lot more money? I just think we need a serious plan in place before this happens.