Capital project options change

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District is nearly finished narrowing options for a proposed capital project that aims to make the Middle/High School fully accessible to students with disabilities.

The proposed capital project is the latest phase of the district Facilities Planning Committee’s long-range plan to prioritize and perform crucial upgrades to the district’s aging facilities.

Bringing the Middle/High School into full compliance with the Americans with

Disabilities Act is a top priority for the district. Failure to invest in needed upgrades to the Middle/High School would not only defy state guidelines but also make the district vulnerable to lawsuits – possible consequences that could prove more costly in the long-run, he said.

The district is still considering a complete renovation of the school’s gym, cafeteria and locker rooms, as well as the addition of new classrooms and elevators, but the blueprint to achieve these goals has changed.

Instead of displacing students for a full school year while renovations take place, district administration now proposes to build a new gymnasium west of where the technology classrooms are currently located, then renovate the current gymnasium into a new cafeteria, library and classrooms.

“I favor this option because not only does it address all of the accessibility needs in the Middle/High School, it would also help us avoid displacing students during school renovations, which would not have been possible with the previous options,” said Superintendent Steven Schrade.

The Facilities Committee plans to present the new option -- as well as a “quick-fix” alternative that would install two new elevators in the Middle/High School to enable wheelchair access to the cafeteria and boys’ gym locker rooms -- to the Board of Education within the next two months.

Cost estimates for these options are still being finalized.

Though a bond vote is expected sometime before the end of the 2006-2007 school year, it will not take place before February at the earliest, in order to allow the public every opportunity to weigh in on the capital project selection process.