Study says downtown high school cheaper for Woodland
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 12:28 AM PDT
By Leila Summers
lsummers@tdn.com
Printable version
E-mail this articleWOODLAND -- It's $5 million cheaper to build a new high school on the district's downtown campus than a 40-acre district parcel along Dike Access Road, according to an analysis presented Monday night to the Woodland School Board.
A new school on the existing campus is estimated to cost $51 million -- compared to approximately $56 million to build at the Dike Road site.
The school district asked construction consultants with ESD 112 to analyze the two alternatives after the defeat of the March bond election to build the school at Dike Road. Voters said that location and $50 million price tag, combined with a poor economy, lead to its failure.
Board members want to bring both options to the public before making a decision. The 10 percent price difference didn't deter some board members from continuing to defend the Dike Road site.
"It translates between a few bucks a year," said board member Steve Madsen.
Part of the reason costs are reduced at the existing campus is that students would continue using vocational classrooms for wood and metal shop. Board President Jim Bays said that could send a wrong message to voters that the district isn't investing enough into learning those trades.
Another "hot button" issue Bays warned the board about is how a new downtown high school would cover the district's practice football field. That would require the game field be covered in turf because it would be more heavily used, according to the report.
Board member Janice Watts said the district needs more playing fields, not less.
"If it's here, you're maxed out again," Watts said of the downtown location. "You haven't made it any better."
On the up side, building downtown seems to come with less road and utility improvements and won't require any wetland preservation. Permits for building on wetlands could take a year to obtain from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
It appears 15 of the 40 acres at the Dike Road site are designated wetlands that practically cut the property in half diagonally. But Doug Nichols, an ESD 112 consultant, said there's still enough space to fit the school, new fields and track.
Voters approved the $3.4 million purchase of that site by nearly 60 percent in 2002 specifically to build a new school. It's too soon to say if the board would sell the Dike Road property if it goes with the other option, Green said.
"It's a bit premature," Green said. "It's not really been discussed."
Building a new high school is desperately needed to alleviate districtwide overcrowding, school officials say.
Both sites plan to build core facilities, such as the cafeteria and commons area, to accommodate 1,200 people. Initially, classroom space could accommodate 1,000 students, with capacity to add on rooms for an additional 200.
Estimates are projected at $310 per square foot for both sites.
Woodland students are rapidly outgrowing their current school, which was built in the 1950s for 500 students. Woodland students surpassed that capacity in 1990. The school now has more than 700 students.
jbinwa wrote on Sep 23, 2008 10:09 AM:
instead of another study to justify the same brand new building in a different location, how about a study on what the community would support?
When they get to the cost that would get 60% or greater taxpayer support, design from that reality and time it to better economic conditions.
It would probably mean adding on to the existing plant rather than a grand new building. If colleges and universities can get by with multiple classroom buildings on a campus why can't a high school? "
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