March 19, 2024

School district to acquire new property

Further research being conducted on district building updates

Rumors have already been running red hot on the Newton Community School District’s future configuration, and several decisions made at Tuesday’s board of education work session are sure to keep fanning those flames.

The board gave Superintendent Bob Callaghan permission to secure property on behalf of the district, however, no details were provided. Callaghan was initially granted permission to investigate real estate property for the district in September.

After hearing a nearly $18 million proposal to renovate the Berg Complex, the board asked for a detailed proposal on a new building for Berg and potential updates for every other building in the district.

“When we consider construction, I need the whole bigger picture. Do we to need to plan for more classrooms because we need to eliminate, or do something different in other places because there are similar issues, but maybe not as severe?” said Donna Cook, board member.

“This way, we have a good investment of whatever tax dollars we have to use.”

Nat Clark, another board member, agreed and said if the board was going to potentially have to use bonding to pay for Berg, it would be ideal to have a better idea of other projects that would need to be done.

“It’s already hard enough to swallow, so whatever else you throw on the plate isn’t going to make it any better,” Clark said.

The board asked Callaghan to work with the district’s administrative team and David Briden, a senior architect at FRK Architects and Engineers, to develop an ideal plan for what type of needs would be required for a potential new facility.

During a previous work session in September, there was a $35 million quote for building a new Berg Complex, however, there were no building perspectives in that proposal.

The catalyst for the board’s inquiry of a new building was the $17,828,400 proposal to renovate the existing Berg Complex. Since it was built in 1963, the complex has undergone renovations or additions in 1984, 1993 and 2000.

Details from the proposal — which was created by FRK, along with Farris Engineering in August — show the complex is structurally sound, but has a number of other issues.

The elementary and middle school classroom sizes are below modern standards and there is no sprinkler system installed in case of fire. The 1963 and 1984 HVAC systems from the building are described as “beyond useful life” except for a recently replaced steam boiler. Portions from the 2000 addition can be reused if they are recommissioned, according to the report.

The report also indicates there a number of electrical issues within the 1963 and 1984 portions of the complex; however, the 2000 addition’s electrical system could be good for another 20 or 30 years. Furthermore, it is recommended the building’s lighting be replaced to be more energy efficient, and other upgrades should be done to accommodate changing technology.

A breakdown for the total costs for the renovations show $5.25 million toward architectural costs, $5.9 million for mechanical issues, close to $3 million for electrical and $250,000 for construction contingency.

Another $650,000 would be required for temporary classrooms during construction, there’s a $1.5 million contingency cost, nearly $1.3 million in soft costs and a to be determined cost for asbestos abatement. Callaghan reiterated the asbestos is not a health factor for anyone in the facility.

Under the proposal, the renovation would done in in five phases beginning in summer 2015 and ending in the fall of 2016.

The renovation plan could be financed through Secure an Advanced Vision for Education  or SAVE funds. This fund is supported by revenues from state sales/use tax for school infrastructure. An additional means of funding this project would be to issue general obligation bonds, which require voter approval.

If the board decided to go forward with building a new Berg Complex, it would require both SAVE funds and general obligation bonds.

“I think over the years — that I’ve been around — we’ve had major projects,” said Bill Perrenoud, board member and former educator in the district. “When I first came to Newton, (Thomas Jefferson) was a project.

“Then they had other buildings that became the major focus where they tried to do something to that building to upgrade it and update it. And we’ve kind of gotten away from that. Once the additions were made at TJ and Aurora Heights — using the last bond issue — I don’t think that anything has been done to the facilities (that’s) substantial.”

Callaghan estimated he and Briden could return to the board by January 2015 with a solid proposal on rebuilding the Berg Complex; an asbestos abatement in the case the board decided to renovate the complex;  and a long-range plan and life expectancy for the district’s other five campuses.

Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6532 or trushing@newtondailynews.com