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School board outlines bond plan, advances Rapid Valley construction manager-at-risk
Summary
Rapid City Area School District trustees reviewed a facilities master plan, said they intend to place a bond on the June ballot and approved a construction-manager-at-risk recommendation for the Rapid Valley expansion project.
Rapid City Area School District trustees said they plan to ask voters next June to approve a bond to address aging school buildings and prioritized projects, and the board approved a construction-manager-at-risk recommendation for the Rapid Valley expansion project.
The board’s facilities update summarized a master plan produced by Coop Architecture and said the district will ask the community to support a bond to "address the district's most urgent safety and security needs, upgrade HVAC systems in numerous buildings, preserve neighborhood elementary schools, and fund the construction of a new elementary school," according to board remarks. The board signaled it will vote next month to place the measure on the June ballot.
“Many of our schools were built in the 1950s and ’60s,” a board member said during the facilities update, adding that the district reduced the size of the request “after hearing concerns from community members about the cost.” The board said it will host school tours and informational sessions before the vote to explain the proposal and its impact on students, staff and families.
Chief Financial and Operations Officer Mike Safford told trustees the district is also advancing a major capital project in the Rapid Valley area. The board’s consent agenda included a recommendation to hire Skoll Construction as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the Rapid Valley expansion; Safford said bringing a CMAR on during design helps avoid conflicts later in construction and praised Skoll’s partnership.
Board members also reported near-term facilities work underway: the district is selecting architects for a Grandview HVAC replacement project and for mechanical and architectural work at Stevens High School, including remodeling portions of the arts hallway.
Board members said the facilities committee discussed a bond proposal at a recent retreat and that the district trimmed the request compared with an earlier version so the plan focuses on “critical needs” while responding to community cost concerns. The board intends to vote next month on whether to place the bond on the June ballot.
The facilities update did not include a final bond amount; the board described the current proposal as lower than an initial plan but did not specify the dollar figure at the meeting.
