Consultants present four school-campus options, including fairgrounds site; final feasibility report due in two weeks

RLPS, the district's feasibility‑study consultant, presented the final draft of an eight‑month feasibility study and told the school board the updated report will be available to members in about two weeks.

The consultants said the study revisited three previously discussed options — maintenance and repairs; additions and renovations (including adding a middle school); and a new middle‑school/high‑school campus adjacent to the stadium — and added a fourth option after requests from the public: siting the new campus at the county fairgrounds. The team highlighted community engagement, cost‑estimate methodology, student‑impact analysis and operating‑cost comparisons across options.

Why it matters: the study is intended to provide the board with cost, enrollment and operational information the board needs to decide whether to renovate or build new. Several board members said they need a clear understanding of near‑term costs and the long‑term operating implications before selecting an option.

Consultant findings and discussion RLPS said the four options produce different utility and operating‑cost profiles over time and that the study includes estimates for temporary classroom trailers (the consultants used 10 trailers at an assumed $12,000 per classroom per month for phasing). The firm provided an inflation sensitivity table that adjusts 2027 cost estimates for 2028 and 2029 starts at 3.5% per year.

On the fairgrounds option, consultants presented site plans showing a middle‑ and high‑school building, bus and car loops, parking, and connections to Bear Creek access. They warned the fairgrounds location places the new building farther from existing athletic facilities and field house and would add impervious surface and related land‑development costs; those land‑development requirements were not priced in the high‑level estimate and would be part of a next phase if the board selected that option.

Board questions focused on safety, constructability and timing. Board members repeatedly asked whether the existing building is safe for continued use; the consultants answered that systems are past their expected life and the building remains usable “so long as your systems are running” but that failures would create immediate problems. Consultants did not recommend immediate evacuation; they described the current condition as “day‑to‑day” dependent on system performance.

Next steps and schedule The consultants told the board they will incorporate community comments from recent town halls and deliver a final report in about two weeks. The report will include the full Q&A and the study’s evaluation tool for comparing options.

Ending note: Board members and consultants repeatedly emphasized that selecting an option will trigger additional phases — site design, land‑development review, and more detailed cost estimates — and that some decisions (for example, whether to build at the fairgrounds) would require specific land‑development studies before a firm cost can be stated.