- By Dan Veaner
- News
Print 
Last year the BOE had mandated that the office be moved by last August, but as the time came to do something, nobody had decided what to do. The board lifted the mandate to allow more time to decide. But the Capital Project Facilities Committee balked at including the office in the proposed project because they wanted to concentrate on needed repairs and classroom space only. Presented with that recommendation, BOE member Dan Brown said that a district office solution belongs in the capital project, so the board is now considering what to do and how to do it.
Short term solutions amount to repairing the current building, or leasing nearby office space. Lewis and Business Administrator Larry Lawrence presented four lease options, including space in Lansing Plaza on East Shore Drive, a building that has yet to be constructed on Cayuga Vista Road, the new Bentowski property on the site of the old fire house, and the Advanced Design property that is closer to the school campus.Long term solutions included relocating the office to the elementary or high school, purchasing a modular office building to be constructed on the old restaurant site just below the middle school, or renovating the current building. None of the solutions are without problems, and money is a top concern. Renovating and expanding the current district office is estimated at $998,000, and constructing a modular building at $1,190,500. Neither of these options would be eligible for state aid.
But relocating the office in an existing school building would create security problems, possible administrative conflicts, and reduced flexibility in responding to programmatic needs and fluctuations in school populations. It would also mean delaying the capital project to include plans that fold the district office into the project. Board members agreed that they want the office to remain on campus, but the cost and security challenges make off-campus solutions more attractive.
Lewis says that the Advanced Design building could be seen as a short or long term solution. With 15,000 square feet of space, the attached warehouse could be adapted to serve as a bus garage, which would take $224,000 out of the current capital project. That money is slated to repair the current bus garage. Of the four temporary solutions it is closest to the school campus, providing easier access and less of a challenge to hook up Internet, phone and networking. The building is assessed at $555,000, though the actual purchase price is not known.
Most agreed that whatever is done, a stop-gap solution is needed soon. While a new roof has been put onto the building other problems like the inability to heat the building higher than 60 degrees make some sort of action urgent. The board feared that replacing the furnace and making other improvements to the building would be 'throwing good money after bad,' but Sandi Dhimitri noted that throwing $10,000 of good money was better than the $26,000 estimated to lease a building off campus for each of a minimum of two years.
Most agreed that something must be done before the winter weather sets in, at least on a temporary basis. Chairwoman Bonita Lindberg asked the board to eliminate choices to try to narrow down a solution. For a moment it seemed that all the choices were going to be eliminated. The board decided to explore some issues, such as the feasibility of expanding the current bus garage to include a district office, and whether the current district office can be made habitable for less than $10,000. Lindberg also asked architect Dave Green to determine what it would cost to add the office onto the high school. The board also wanted more information on costs and benefits of the Advanced Design building.
They determined to address the issue after getting the information they requested. Lewis said, "According to the architects, a decision must be made at the next board meeting on what direction to go, or we are not going to make our time line for placing the (capital project) proposition before the voters in February." Architects were poised to send required plans to the State last Friday, but uncertainty about the district office could delay that, also delaying the vote and eventual construction.
----
v2i43