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 The exterior of the main high school building shows the painted glass block. There is approximately nine feet of glass block wall around 95 percent of the building. There are single-paned windows and a concrete base wall. "One main issue is with the structural integrity of a glass block wall, which has settled and rendered windows not operable," said Project Manager Laura Morrison. "You can't fix a glass block wall to make it more energy efficient, and it was never meant to be a structural, load-bearing material. You can't insulate a glass block wall and you can't control the light through the glass block wall, which is why they painted it. The heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter is extreme. R-value of this wall is less than two. A well-insulated wall would have an R value of 19 or more." Photo courtesy of Morrison Architecture |
The decision and its reasoning is multifaceted and complex.
Attempting to renovate the existing main "100" building is not feasible, for several reasons, say Laura and Charles Morrison of Morrison Architecture, the designers for the project.
Structurally, the 1951 building's walls are sitting on glass blocks. The roof is sagging and putting pressure on the walls so that in many cases, windows cannot be opened, causing a ventilation problem.
There are asbestos tiles in the floors, and the foundation is having problems.
There are holes in the roof of the 300 building, the gym.
The best part of the existing campus is the 200 building, Laura Morrison said. It would not require extensive remodeling.
The school was constructed at a time when energy costs were not an issue. The walls have almost no insulation, which makes heating and cooling costs extremely high.
Classroom square footage is inadequate for class size, and the building no longer meets state electrical, fire and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) codes.
"We have to build for the maximum enrollment, 240 kids," Laura Morrison said. "Any new facility has to meet state guidelines. For renovations, we are encouraged to meet as much as is reasonable, but we must, in any case, meet safety, ADA codes, etc., and the existing building doesn't."
"We've had the architects and engineers look at it," said Carr. "It would cost more to renovate the old building, and it still wouldn't meet all codes. It's not feasible to put any more money in that old building and still not have what we need for our students.
"Another problem is there's no room for expansion and no room for extra parking."
The existing campus is 7.16 acres, but only five are usable.
The existing campus has 146 parking spaces. The new one would have 229 spaces.
We sat down with Carr and School Board President Rusty Windle last week to go over several questions and rumors that have surfaced in the community about the project.
If you do build a new high school at the middle school site, what will be done with the old campus?
Carr: Speaking for myself, not for the school board, we need to sell that campus, hopefully as something that will benefit the community. All kinds of people have looked at it and talked about it, from it becoming a recreation center to an art center. There has been a lot of interest.
Are there any encumbrances on the campus to prevent its sale? Or any financial burden on the district if it doesn't sell?
Carr: We did have a survey and title search. No one found anything on restricting the use of the property. The school district pays no property taxes, so no, there is no financial burden on it.
Why build now? Why not go on as usual? Surely 240 kids don't warrant an $11 million facility?
Carr: In order to give our kids a world-class facility, you need a new building for the current times. It's not just 240 kids; we would hopefully graduate 3,000 over the next 60 years.
Right now interest rates are low and construction costs are low. The state had projected $152 per square foot for a high school of similar size and location, but current costs are coming in at $118 per square foot. The $500,000 in stimulus money we have has to be spent by 2011. I would hate to lose that window.
Why is Eureka Springs considered "too wealthy" to get money from the state?
Carr: The state guarantees almost $6,000 per student, minimum foundation funding. We have a good assessment and tax base, but the issue is we only have 670 kids, and if you divide that into the tax base, that local money pays for most of our education here. If we had 1,000 students, we'd get money from the state.
Windle: We have a high base; we have Eureka Springs and Holiday Island and the Mundell Road area, which is a pretty high base. That's a good thing, except when you build a facility. Of whatever the cost of the project, we'll get one-half percent (around $500,000 only).
Carr: The state will give us only $50,000 toward the cost of construction.
How was the $10.6 million figure arrived at?
Windle: Our estimate came from Kinco Construction (the firm that replaced the elementary school roof, which came in under budget). What they looked at is what construction is going at right now. Once we get a design complete, about six months, then they take that design and compare the bidding and will be able to lock in a price.
Carr: Two years ago we were looking at $15 million. Four-hundred to five-hundred-thousand dollars is built in as a contingency, but that's not a lot.
Windle: We'll be locked in to what money we have, even if we have to make cuts or changes to the design.
With property taxes going up every year over the last several years, why not build a new high school with those increased revenues instead of imposing a millage increase?
Carr: Our assessment has been increasing an average of around 4.75 percent per year for the last six years. Between 2007 and 2008 it was 5 percent. That's enough to keep us operating with increased costs and add some programs and give our teachers some raises, but it will not build a new high school, not anywhere close. We are trying to keep costs down and still build what we think we need for our students.
Windle: Hopefully we'll have some economic growth in this area over the next 10 to 15 years. People come and look at our facilities. We've had multiple people in the last few years who have come and look and then put their kids in Berryville because they have nicer facilities. We're not trying to build a Taj Mahal, but we need something better.
Carr: Hopefully a new high school that is modern will attract new families into the area. Our taxes will still be relatively low compared to other counties across the state.
Windle: We've got to do something at some point. If we're going to do it, this is the time to do it.
Carr: This decision has not been made lightly. We've had planners and engineers and spent a lot of time and money to come up with the best decision. For the future I think it's the best way to go, and the timing is right because of the cost and interest rates. We really don't enjoy asking to increase people's taxes.
Windle: I own several properties in town. Is it going to hit me pretty hard? Sure. But it comes down to what is right for our kids and for the community.
(Ed. note: In upcoming articles, we will look at financing, security issues between the existing high school and the new one, the site plan and features of the new high school.)