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Board approves Dogwood Elementary FEMA shelter floor plan, budget amendment and fund transfer
Summary
The board approved a floor plan for a FEMA-rated shelter at Dogwood Elementary, authorized a budget amendment to cover upfront project costs and approved a transfer from Fund 1 to Fund 4 to support capital spending while FEMA reimbursements are pending.
The Camdenton R-III Board of Education approved a FEMA-rated shelter floor plan for Dogwood Elementary and authorized a budget amendment and transfers to fund the project during the Aug. 11 meeting.
Administrators and the district's architect presented an eight-classroom FEMA box with an adjoining multipurpose room to serve early childhood and nearby school populations during emergencies. The schematic described eight classrooms (each targeted above 900 square feet and sized to limit early-childhood room capacity to about 15 students) plus a multipurpose room and associated storage and restrooms. Presenters said windows will be included in classrooms and that mechanical and storage layouts will be refined in construction documents.
The board discussed site logistics, including pedestrian routes, bus access, pickup/drop-off flow, and the need to avoid harmful impacts to existing playground equipment. Administrators and the architect reviewed options for emergency backup power and told the board they were evaluating battery backup systems versus a traditional generator: batteries fit in smaller interior spaces but may require specialized service, while generators require larger exterior enclosures (FEMA-rated, with costs for a 13-by-18-foot enclosure cited) and are louder but more familiar to maintenance staff.
Board members voted to approve the Dogwood FEMA shelter floor plan as presented. They also approved a budget amendment to recognize upfront expenditures for the FEMA project in the current fiscal year, noting the district will pay construction costs and submit invoices for FEMA reimbursement (staff estimated reimbursements typically arrive in 30 to 60 days but cautioned that timing can vary). To provide cash for immediate spending, the board approved a transfer of $1,644,388 from Fund 1 to Fund 4 as part of the funding plan.
Presenters emphasized contingency budgeting because construction unknowns can produce overruns; staff said they will refine estimates as construction documents progress and seek to limit contingency where prudent.
