Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bond Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bond design moves into development; middle-school addition grows, fieldhouse scope paused
Summary
The Shawnee Heights Board received a bond project update from Whitney Henley: design has advanced from schematic to design development, the middle-school sixth-grade wing program expanded from about 24,500 to roughly 28,000 square feet, the middle-school will convert a stage into a production kitchen, and the fieldhouse scope has been paused pending budget review. Final hazardous-material reports are pending and a budget update is expected at the first May meeting.
Whitney Henley told the Shawnee Heights Board that bond projects have moved from schematic design into design development, a stage of work where teams add details such as cabinetry, whiteboards and teacher-desk layouts and refine construction packages. She said the team is still working with six construction packages and will bring budget impacts to the board at the first May meeting, as a “global impact” could affect costs.
Henley said user-group meetings for the high school and middle school continue and that the middle-school sixth-grade wing program has grown from an original program size of about 24,500 square feet to closer to 28,000 square feet after review of square footage per student. “The team has really been evaluating what square footage per student looks like in these middle schools,” Henley said.
She also described a planned change in the middle school’s food service: rather than a cafeteria expansion, the project will convert the kitchen to a production kitchen to serve three grades and to produce and serve more meals on site. That shift will require removing the auditorium stage; Henley said mobile risers would be used for performances. “So then the next steps are, again, budget reviews, the design development,” she said, noting that funds originally earmarked for a cafeteria expansion have been rerouted to the production-kitchen cost.
The board pressed for site-condition detail. A board member asked about parking-lot subgrade coring; Henley said crews took a couple of cores and that one area matched expectations while another section was worse than expected. “We do have a document that shows that and tells us that. So we can forward that on for the group if they wanna look at it,” Henley said.
On the district fieldhouse project, Henley said early meetings with staff and coaches expanded the desired scope beyond the original budget boundary; the district will pause and prioritize academic facilities and revisit the fieldhouse only if funds remain. “It’s not gonna go away. We just might be able to help get closer to that goal with those user meetings,” she said, but cautioned the project may not be completed in time for football in 2027.
Henley also reported that hazardous-material surveys were done over spring break at the middle school (Barrington) and the high school; final reports are pending and will be incorporated into budgets and construction sequencing. The board was told a site utility-relocation package will precede road rerouting for gym additions.
The board will receive updated cost information at its first May meeting and can expect additional detail as design development completes fixture-level decisions and final hazardous-material reports are delivered.
