WWW arkcity.net

Improvements would cost $31 million

By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer

A $32 million school facilities renovation plan unveiled Monday night would include the building of a new football stadium west of Arkansas City High School and would expand slightly five of the six local elementary schools.

For it to become a reality would require a bond election to request a tax increase. Board officials said an election wouldn't be feasible until next fall.

The plan was unveiled at a special meeting of the USD 470 Board of Education, held at the high school. Leaders of a citizens steering committee that has worked on the plan since last fall addressed the board briefly.

A summary presentation with illustrations projected on a screen was presented by Kenton Cox, of Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture, a Wichita firm hired by the school district to work on facility improvements.

Among the elementary schools, only IXL would undergo extensive renovation. A good portion of IXL would be replaced, but other existing facilities would remain essentially intact.

The high school and Arkansas City Middle School also would undergo renovations, including new entrance areas for the middle school and a renovated and expanded industrial technology building and new commons area added to the cafeteria area of the high school.

The plan adheres to the concept of neighborhood schools by spreading early childhood learning classrooms among existing schools. Each of the schools would have several additional classrooms for early childhood education.

The additional classrooms would be designed to meet FEMA standards as storm shelters and could accommodate the entire population of each school.

Another key aspect of the plan is added security at each school, including front entrances that are visible to office personnel, and security cameras.

Each school would have upgraded heating and air-conditioning systems that would be more energy efficient than the current systems, Cox said.

The steering committee's athletics and activities sub-group looked at four options for upgrading outside athletic facilities: remodel Curry Field, expand Cowley Community College facility next to the City Ball Park, build a new stadium south of the high school or build a new stadium west of the high school.

The subcommittee recommended building a new stadium west of the high school with bleachers that would have 4,500 seats. The stadium would be built in a bowl configuration.

It would have two new dressing rooms, new ticket, concession and public restroom areas, new pressbox, eight-lane all-weather track, new lighting and sound and an additional 500-car parking area.

The complex also would have 10 new tennis courts -- four with lights; an officials' dressing area and equipment storage building.

The cost of the stadium would be $5.9 million.

Future practice fields could be built south of Radio Lane south of the high school. An optional new four-field softball complex costing $1.8 million could be built just south of the practice fields and just east of the existing high school baseball field.

School board member Daren Reese said if the new athletic facility were built it would save parents much in transportation costs. He said it now costs him $25 to $30 a week to transport his son from the high school or Radio Lane to the Curry Field locker room and then to the City Ball Park for baseball.

John Sturd, chairman of the athletics and activities sub-committee, said the committee's report addresses only softball; it doesn't address baseball.

An advantage of upgrading school facilities now is that the Ark City Public School District would get 48 percent of the project cost back from the State of Kansas, Superintendent Ron Ballard said at last night's meeting. That would include the interest the district pays on bonds.

"We have a window of opportunity," Ballard said.

The 48 percent funding for USD 470 is based on the district's demographics and size, board president Joelyn Squires said today.

The board set another special meeting for 6 p.m. April 30 to discuss the facilities steering committee report and prioritize elements of the plan. That meeting will be open to the public.

Another of the four sub-groups of the steering committee focused on existing buildings. It was chaired by Wayne Hamilton.

"We looked at early childhood education and the number of children in preschool, and how that would benefit those children being in the elementary schools," Hamilton said.

Instead of building separate centers for preschool, fourth and fifth graders, or a new elementary school, the subcommittee decided to focus on the existing neighborhood schools, he said.

"We thought it made the most sense to keep schools at the neighborhoods," Cox said. "At the last bond issue, we found out that (Ark City) voters strongly believe in neighborhood schools."

Upgrading technology in schools is another aspect of the plan. It would include providing a wide area network to all buildings; updating local area network in all buildings; adding video security systems to all buildings, and improving telephone systems throughout the district. The total cost of technology upgrades is estimated at $1.8 million.


Where the money would go

New stadium west of High School $ 5,885,000
Expand & renovate Roosevelt Elementary $ 774,960
Expand & renovate Frances Willard Elementary $ 1,541,000
Expand & renovate Jefferson Elementary $ 2,220,120
Replace IXL Elementary $ 3,935,000
Expand & renovate C-4 Elementary $ 1,035,200
Expand & renovate Adams Elementary $ 2,464,450
Renovate original portion of Middle School $ 3,625,000
Expand & remodel High School $ 8,494,000
Upgrade technology $ 1,800,000
TOTAL ALL PROJECTS: $31,774,730

Optional High School softball complex $ 1.2 - 1.8 million