Lebanon board reviews options to add 12 classrooms, site new schools at Jones Brummett and Legal Pike

Lebanon Special School District board members at a work session discussed options to expand capacity at the district’s Jones Brummett elementary campus and the feasibility of building additional schools on the district-owned Legal Pike property. Consultants described site work already completed, timelines for design and permitting, and preliminary cost ranges; board members discussed financing options but took no formal action.

The board heard that Jones Brummett was originally designed with future expansion in mind and could receive four additional classrooms on each of three existing wings — 12 classrooms in total — increasing capacity by about 240 students if the district programs roughly 20 students per classroom. Consultant Rusty said key infrastructure elements — electrical panels, underground plumbing routing and fresh-air/recirculation HVAC capacity — were installed during the original construction so the physical work for classroom additions would be chiefly architectural and finish work rather than full utility upgrades.

At the meeting, Rusty gave a schedule estimate for the Jones Brummett classroom addition: about four months to finish design, four to five months for regulatory approvals, and roughly eight months for construction, which together could total about 16 months depending on permitting and site conditions. He told the board that the bathrooms and major mechanical provisions were already sized for the expansion and that no permanent additional parking was planned, though construction would temporarily limit some parking.

On cost, Rusty referenced an earlier request for a preliminary budget and said the project’s February 2024 estimate was “in the 4,000,004, 4 million 5 range.” He added, “at this point tonight… we probably suggest you budget in the 4,000,008 to 5,000,000 range,” language he used at the meeting to convey an updated, higher estimate because of inflation.

Consultants also reviewed work on the Legal Pike site, which the team said has had topographic, hydrological, environmental and geotechnical studies completed; a small wetland area of about one-tenth of an acre was identified and will require a mitigation decision pending legislative changes and Corps of Engineers guidance. The consultants said the city is installing a gas line near the site and that sewer capacity and water pressure connections have been reviewed; because of changes to building siting and grade, they said a second school could be located so that sewer would gravity-flow rather than require a district-maintained pump station.

On programming and timelines for a potential new school at Legal Pike, consultants said they still need to complete about five to six months of design work before submitting plans for approval, then expect four months for permitting and roughly six months for construction — though they noted timing varies by project scale. Consultants warned the Legal Pike parcel is suitable for an elementary school but likely cannot accommodate full middle-school athletic fields on the same footprint; the consultants estimated the cost to outfit athletic fields with lighting and other infrastructure would be roughly $2.5 million to $3 million.

Board members discussed alternatives — building up instead of out, repurposing existing buildings, and staged financing — and asked consulting teams to return with additional cost breakdowns and further analysis. Staff and board members discussed the district’s available resources and bond capacity; speakers referred to a variety of numbers during the meeting (mentions included “about $20,000,000” and a recurring reference to a 16.6% county allotment), and staff said they would follow up with an exact accounting of available fund balance, projected allotments and debt-service impacts. Consultants suggested bond-structuring options sometimes used by other public agencies, such as initial interest-only payments for several years before principal amortization, but the board did not adopt any financing plan.

No motions or votes were recorded on the projects during the work session. Board members asked consultants to provide written follow-ups on: refined cost estimates for the Jones Brummett classroom addition; a confirmed schedule and cost for Legal Pike design and construction; the budget impact of athletic fields; and a clear summary of the district’s available fund balance and potential county allotment for a future bond or partnership.

The discussion is expected to continue in future meetings once staff provide the requested budget and financing details and consultants return with updated firm estimates and refined site plans.