News

Looking for answers in district

By Scott Wagar

07/16/2013

The Bottineau School District held a public meeting on July 10 to discuss a Facilities Assessment and Master Plan for the current buildings the school district holds and the possible future of new structures being constructed to facilitate the educational experiences in the district.

ORIGINS

According to Jason Kersten, superintendent of the Bottineau School District, the Facilities and Assessment and Master Plan originated in November of 2012 to evaluate the current school buildings in the district and felt that a master plan needed to be developed to outline the current and future needs of the district and its structures.

FIRMS
 
At that time, the district put out bids for an architectural firm JLG Architects out of Minot was hired to conduct the master plan, along with Healy Bender and Associates Inc. out of Minnesota and Illinois, and Kraus Anderson Construction Company out of Minnesota.

ENROLLMENT

Kersten added school enrollment has also played an important part in originating a master plan. He pointed out that in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, enrollment had dropped below 600 in the school district, and was expected to stay below that number.

However, this past fall, student enrollment saw 312 elementary students (K-6), 91 junior high students and 193 senior high students for a total of 596 students, four students below 600. By the end of this school year in May, the district saw 321 elementary students, 96 junior high students and 194 senior high students for a total of 621 students.
As the 2013-14, school year begins this fall, the school district should see 353 elementary students, 89 junior high students and 174 senior high students for a total of 616, which is down by five students, but numbers are increasing as the summer continues.

Kersten believes that during the next three school years the district should see a three percent increase in student enrollment during each year with an estimated number of 654 students in PreK-12.

Kersten also stated that with the oil workers coming into Bottineau County, he can see enrollment increasing due to that factor.

With enrollment numbers like these, the school district felt a master plan would assist the increase in the number of students they expect to see in the next few years.

EDUCATIONAL MODELS:

Kersten spoke on educational models and what the district would like to see in the school system to grant the most ideal education they can provide its students and staff, which included:

Preferred School Configuration:

•  PreK – 5th grade group together. Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12) grouped together
•  Works best from an educational and operational point of view
•  PreK- 5th grade configuration makes shared spaces more cost effective
•  Library, gymnasium, kitchen, cafeteria, resource rooms and restrooms

Preferred Classroom size:

•  Maximum of 20 students per classroom
•  National Planning Standard of 850 square feet per classroom
•  Current elementary school enrollment in Bottineau School District is 40 to 60 students per grade level
•  Need to plan for three sections for each grade level - this would accommodate for a small amount of future growth at the elementary level

 
REPORT CARD

Doug Larson of JLG Architects also spoke about the study JLG conducted and stated that the schools in Bottineau lacked proper fire escape routes, fire sprinklers, that there are wood doors on wood frames which is against today’s standards and are short in meeting ADA requirements. He graded Central School with a D minus and granted the middle, junior high and senior schools with a C plus rating.

PLANS

With the introduction completed, Matt Johnson of Wold Engineering and a Bottineau School Board member, presented six plans that the different entities involved in the master plan have created to solve the present problems facing the school district.   

OPTION 1

Option one includes selling Central School and moving the elementary students to the high school building with elementary and administrative additions added to the south side of the high school structure.

The pros of option one include: Better logistics for staff and administration, students under one roof, no travel needed by staff members, upgrade needed in technology would be met, no portable buildings, the ability to carry out the districts crisis plans if the need arises, appropriate storage, proximity of students, communication among staff, parking available, administration in central location, Middle School science set-up, subject area rooms together, cost is less, single story building, office where people enter the building, one location for breakfast and lunch, elementary principal in one building with no travel to another school building, makes use of the current property of the district, revitalizes and updates current problems in existing buildings, administrative office as part of secure entrance, uses one kitchen, grades 7-12 get updated classrooms in Middle School building, frees up lunch space with PreK-5 having their own multipurpose room, free up space in general and closes Central School and allows the district to sell the school, granting prime location for businesses.

The cons include: No room to expand, no room for growth, lack of parking, playground too small, congestion in the hallways when going to band and the library, not enough classroom space for work areas, rooms for one-on-one intervention, multipurpose room to serves as both gym and lunch room which takes away from classroom activity when phy-ed is not in session, no new gym for K-5, smaller junior high area, too many interior rooms with no windows, too much interaction between older and younger students, teachers may need MS endorsement which may affect current staff, traffic congestion, hard to schedule time in library for classes, high school principal too far away from the majority of the high school rooms, if PreK is mandated there isn’t enough room, one library resource center not large enough and equipment to far away for sixth through high school students, no extra room for bubbles, footprint to large and not designed to get from one to the other in reasonable time.

OPTION 2

Option two is to build a new two story PreK-5 school which would be located on the football practice field on the fairgrounds with selling or raising the Central School building.
The pros include: New building, better logistics for staff and administration, better continuity for elementary staff, more room for high school expansion, proximity to 6-12 building, parking availability, close to the existing building but separate from it, adequate parking along pickup and drop-off areas, extra room created as learning center, office placed at the main entrance of building, proximity close to other building, adequate lunchroom space where students will not be rushed during meals, smaller area of space taken up, plenty of playground, more cohesive setting in relation to other building, another gym for extra curricular activities and events, has three extra rooms for bubbles, new cafeteria and multipurpose room, secure office, has small group rooms, team centers for collaborating, art room on site, proximity to high school campus cuts down on staff travel, Bottineau Public School owns the land and would not have to purchase, no portable buildings, adequate to follow the district’s crisis plan and upgrades in technology would be able to be met.

The cons include: Loss of athletic teams practice space, more expensive than option one, not conducive to communication across all grade levels, possibility of adding more staff, elevator (along with anhydrous and propane) too close, traffic to the south side of the school, two story handicapped accessibility, classrooms without windows, not enough restrooms on the second floor, restrooms for first grade students far away, not enough green space, adequate locker space questionable, if PreK is mandated there are questions about enough room, pod and work areas too small to serve as addition classrooms and heavy traffic from the Townline road and elevators.

OPTION 3

Option three is to construct a new two story PreK-5 school at the Central School location with raising the present day Central School.

The pros include: New building, more class room space, new facility on own site, could use the present building during the first phase of construction, removal of the three out buildings, extra room created as learning centers, new gym and lunchroom area, elementary students in separate building, secure lobby, extra room for bubbles, frees up space in high school and middle.

Cons include: very small playground area, parking problems, construction will take place during the school year for a two year period providing a very dangerous environment for the kids with no playground during this time, would need additional staff, lost of preK, library and music rooms for a year, building is across town, administration is not centrally located, space is questionable, has to be done in two phases, administration and teachers travel back and forth to schools, no room for expansion, too expensive in short and long term, small footprint playground, small space for gym, only one set of bathrooms on the second floor, adding grades 3-5 would add to the traffic problems, along with senior citizen and church activities, traffic becomes a bigger problem for the school.

OPTION 4

Option four would be a three story addition added on to Central School for grades PreK-5 with remodeling.

The pros include: New building for PreK-5, more classrooms, remove three out buildings, extra rooms for learning centers, new gym lunch area, elementary students has their own building, full size gym which free up spaces at the middle school and high school, district owns the location, centrally located and could use part of the building during the remodel.

Cons include: Parking problems not solved, gain little space for new students, Central School is still an old structure, three story building, administrators and teachers have to travel back and forth from the schools, no room for expansion, costly project, small playground, only two kindergarten rooms, will have to transport food to the school, active senior citizen building and two churches add to parking for the school and safety for the students, Central School is in poor condition and the cost of gutting and renovating Central School.

OPTION 5

Option five is to build a new one story PreK-5 in a new location on the east side of town.

The pros include: New building, better logistics for staff and administration, better continuity for elementary staff, more room for high school expansion, location not near the elevator (along with anhydrous and propane facilities), single level, adequate parking and drop offs and pickups, ample playground, office at the main entrance, gym and multipurpose room, appropriate space for teachers and students education along with special needs education, most recent technology for education, new lunchroom and meeting spaces, general traffic, prevents fire issues, proper logistics with school transportation, all elementary students in one building, room for expansion, avoid watershed and drainage issues, school expansion if necessary, can sell Central School property, will be constructed in a new development area with homes, land available for football and track and field for the future, green space is abundant for playground and can be utilized by the neighborhoods, ability to carry out crisis plans, no elevator needed and younger students are away from the older students’ influences.

Cons include: Cost of land, most expensive plan of the six options, available land, school buildings are apart from one another, administration farther away, especially if the elementary principal is absent, extra staff will be needed and will require staff to travel between infrastructures.

OPTION 6
 
Plan six is to add an addition to the west side of Central School, while remodel portions of the middle, junior and senior high schools.

The pros for plan six include new addition, consolidating the math departments, stand alone electronic lab, upgrades could be completed over a period of time, more storage and any renovations are welcomed.

The cons for the middle, junior and senior high schools include lack of parking, too small of playgrounds, cost involved and you still have an older building, no room for growth, there is consideration if it would be cost efficient, no room for expansion and presently short on space, it would not solve the problem on space, wouldn’t account for growth, doesn’t solve the issue for renovation, not enough play area or green space, not a secure lobby, staff traveling, renovating Central School not realistic, doubtful in meeting education standards, technology is maxed out at the present time and roof needs to be replaced and electrical system out dated.

At the end of the meeting, those in attendance were asked to fill out a survey on what they felt was the best option for the school district.

COST
 
The estimated finances of the six different plans are from $8 million to $18 million dollars.

SCHEDULES AND SURVEY
 
The next public meeting will be on Wednesday, July 24 to discuss building options, construction and remodeling cost and tax implications.

The school board will then endorse a plan late in July and create a community representative group and form a task force for the building plan in early August. In late August, another public meeting will be held to keep the general public informed and then start a campaign and promotion for the plan with the school board taking it to a final vote in early October.

Individuals, who were not able to attend the meeting, can go to www.bottineau.k12.nd.us/ to see the information, plans and conceptual drawings that were handed out at the public forum, along with the opportunity to see the pros and cons of each plan and take the survey on what you feel is the best option for the Bottineau School District.

The survey can also be filled out and brought or mailed to the high school office.