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Board weighs mobile-classroom options; Director Polley outlines costs, requests closed session on lease matter
Summary
Central CUSD 301 discussed mobile classrooms and pole-barn alternatives. Director Polley said Country Trails needs four mobile classrooms and estimated per-unit and installed costs; the board voted to move to closed session to discuss a related lease/contract issue.
The Central CUSD 301 board discussed short-term classroom capacity options during new business, including mobile classrooms and the possibility of pole barns. Director Polley briefed the board on costs, timing and permitting constraints and asked the board to consider a closed-session discussion on a district lease matter.
Director Polley said the district evaluated pole barns but found them unsuitable as classroom space because of permitting and infrastructure requirements such as sprinklers and egress. Polley said elementary sites are landlocked and that a pole-barn solution “doesn’t work quite the same way” for classroom use. Polley said pole barns with required site work could cost “a million plus dollar option,” while a single mobile classroom unit itself is “roughly $540,000-ish,” and the total installed cost with utilities and restroom hookups is likely in the “three quarters of a million to $800,000” range.
Polley identified the immediate need at Country Trails Elementary, where the district plans to add four classroom mobiles. Board members asked about lifespan and operating costs; Polley said the district’s existing mobiles typically have held up “20-plus years,” and that the district spends “roughly $10,000 a week” on water and waste for mobiles across four locations (district-wide figure reported by Polley). Polley said the Regional Office of Education (ROE) advised that a long-term pole-barn approach would require the same permitting as an addition, making it an expensive long-term choice.
Polley also said the district faces a time-sensitive issue related to a lease or property agreement that staff needs to discuss in closed session because it involves competitive bids and dollar amounts. The board moved and seconded a motion to adjourn into closed session; a roll-call vote was taken and the motion carried. No public details about the lease or the specific financial figures were disclosed in open session.
