By:Jennifer Marino
It was then that the board asked for the prioritized list, showing items that are considered critical, those that are eventual needs and those that are desirable. The prioritized list is posted on the school district Web site, www.rvcschools.org.
The priority-one list totals $9,686,701. The priority-two list totals $5,461,231, and the priority-three list, $8,422,730.
The board was scheduled to discuss the lists at its public work session on Wednesday, and to present the bond proposals to the PTA presidents this week as well. There will be a formal presentation of the bond at the Sept. 22 Board of Education meeting at South Side High School. The public is invited to comment on the proposal at that meeting before a final decision is made at the Oct. 12 public work session.
We were concerned about the time frame, but we wanted public input, said Assistant Superintendent Robert Bartels. The district hopes to get the information about the bond out to as many residents as possible and to get comments from them.
The district budgeted little money for capital projects this year, because officials knew the bond was being planned. On Sept. 1, the Board of Education, along with administrators and PTA members, toured all of the school buildings. Last summer, the board fretted over the continuing construction at Covert School, but this year there was not much other than clean buildings and fresh coats of brightly colored paint to view on the tour. The only capital project done over the summer was the sanding and refinishing of the gym at floor South Side High School.
Building-by-building breakdown
Each district building has its own list of projects. South Side Middle School, with a request for more than $5 million in projects, has the most expensive wish list. Its priority-one list calls for just over $4 million in repairs, including more than $1 million in upgrades to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. It also calls for the replacement of windows, bathroom fixtures, and the auditorium curtains and stage floor.
South Side High School came in second, with just over $3 million in requests. The $1 million priority-one list calls for $125,000 to update the electrical system, more than $250,000 in repairs to the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems, fire-alarm upgrades, bathroom renovations and window replacement. The priority-two list includes the replacement of doors and stair handrails, reconstruction of the orchestra pit, roof repairs and several thousand dollars of masonry work.
Wilson School requests total $1.69 million, with just under $1 million in priority projects. These upgrades include bathroom renovations, replacement of windows and exterior doors, repair of the gym roof, installation of exhaust fans in the portable units and exhaust work in the auditorium and gymnasium. The priority-one list also calls for lots of floor work and exterior masonry work.
Officials found $1.69 million in projects for Hewitt School, with $889,255 included on the priority-one list. The upgrades include a new water heater, updated fire-alarm devices, new windows, pavement and exterior steps and roof shingle replacement.
Riverside-s project list calls for about $1.24 million in upgrades. The priority-one list includes $257,375 in expenses. The projects include repairing classroom walls and the roof, new playground swings and masonry work. One concern at Riverside has been the pea gravel under the playground. The replacement of the gravel with a spongy surface is on the priority-one list.
There is a total of $514,070 of renovations proposed at Watson, with $190,140 of that on the priority-one list. The list includes renovating bathrooms, replacing exterior doors and repair of the gym roof.
Covert School, which saw many upgrades before the 2003-04 school year, has the least-expensive list of requests, totaling $325,651. The $163,185 on the priority-one list would cover security lighting, bathroom renovations, refurbishing of the gym floor and replacement of the school-s exterior doors. The driveway would be restored and a drywell put in place.
Other buildings are included in the bond issue. The garage on Maple Avenue is listed for a total of $40,500 in repairs, all of which are priority one. They include pavement stripping, new asphalt and the installation of a drywell seepage basin. The administration building is slated for a total of $115,600 in improvements, $20,000 of which is priority one, for replacement of the archways over doors and windows. There is also a proposal to construct a gatehouse arch for security at a cost of $17,500, which is on the priority-two list.
The bond calls for all of the school buildings to have a new keyless entry system, to help with security, on their priority-one lists.
The district hopes to have a vote on the bond in early winter, in order to factor its results into the budget process starting in February.
