Tuesday Tidbit 10/8

What would it cost to build an elementary school, middle school, and smaller high school instead of one large high school?

The District has identified building one larger high school as a solution to address the enrollment challenges across all grade levels. While the cost of this solution is significant, the District has determined that it is more cost-effective than constructing a separate elementary school, middle school, and smaller high school to meet the anticipated space needs of our growing student population.

We asked our architect and construction manager to provide us with rough estimates for the cost to build a new school at each level in 2025 dollars:

• A new elementary school, similar to Country Trails, would cost an estimated $58 million 
• A new middle school, similar to Prairie Knolls and with same athletic amenities, would cost an estimated $100 million 
• A new high school, similar to the proposed new high school, but smaller, for 1700 students, without a fieldhouse but with the larger auditorium for district-wide use, would cost an estimated $186 million 
• Site/road work expenses would be dependent upon which building was built first, but would be a minimum of an additional $11,250,000.

The total estimated cost, in 2025 dollars, is at least $355 million. However, a building plan like this would be phased in over time, which would lead to higher actual construction costs in the future. Additionally, a phased-in plan will likely require the community to approve multiple building referendums over a period of years.

The District has proposed instead to build one new larger high school for $224.6 million because, for significantly less cost, this plan would:

• Provide the same space and increased academic, career and extracurricular opportunities for every high school student in the District
• Expand the number of elementary schools in the District from four to five, with the fifth school currently located in the area with the greatest existing housing density
• Allow us to bring our 6th, 7th and 8th grade middle school students together in the same building, while offering additional fine arts, career and extracurricular opportunities
• Provide additional space and enrollment capacity for our early childhood program
• Allow us to remain a one high school district