Riverside Elementary could see a $220,000 upgrade to its entryway.
At the Brainerd School District's Facilities Committee meeting Thursday, the group approved an administration recommendation to add space and a secure entrance to the front of the school.
Voting against the recommendation was committee member Chris Robinson, who said he first wanted to hear back on the full facility needs report before making such a move.
The recommendation goes before the Brainerd School Board Monday for final approval.
The possible upgrade includes a 1,400 square foot addition to the front of the current office. It also creates space to allow for individual instructional areas. There would also be a safe and secure entry point.
ADVERTISEMENT
Possible funding could include $140,000 from general fund capital funds and $80,000 lease levy funds. That would mean a one-time addition to the 2016 tax levy and would have about a $1 per year per $100,000 of residential value.
The possible addition is a small step toward a much larger effort to address the district's dwindling space. As enrollment is projected to increase, and nearly every school is at space capacity, district leaders are brainstorming what to do.
Storage rooms have been converted to classrooms at some schools, said Superintendent Klint Willert.
Riverside's needs were brought to the forefront recently as programming has increased, along with enrollment.
Students are being taught reading and being provided reading interventions in a locker room area off of the gym. Students are being assessed for reading skills and performance in sick-bay areas and in an air-handling space in the building.
Some of these areas used to be storage space, so the storage materials were moved to the electrical room, creating a potential fire and life safety violation, Willert said.
Willert presented three options Thursday at the meeting. He recommended the option the committee went with. The other two options included:
• Attach two modular units to the school, adding four classrooms. The Gifted and Talented AGATE Program (currently at Lowell, which is also facing space issues) could be relocated there. Or, Riverside could expand into the rooms. Cost: $578,000 for a five-year lease for the units. After the lease is over, the units would have to be returned.
ADVERTISEMENT
• Add four permanent classrooms to the school. Cost: $910,000.
Willert added that if the board wants to do something that will be ready for next school year, they'd have to act quickly because of all the steps needed in the construction process.
"With all the programs, we're grabbing every little closet to put programs into. We're out of closets, too," said Earl Wolleat, director of buildings and grounds for the district. "They don't even have a place to have a meeting in that school."
Upgrading the entryway will relieve that problem, he said.
The district is currently pursuing an in-depth study on all of its facilities, which would list priorities in regard to fixing issues. That is still in the works.
Robinson said he's not comfortable adding classrooms and an entryway to Riverside without first having the facilities study complete.
He added that the study might reveal better options or higher priorities that should be addressed first.
School board member Bob Nystrom said even with the study coming, the district is still "five years away from a real solution to overcrowding."
ADVERTISEMENT
That's why he supports the idea of building more classrooms at Riverside and moving the AGATE program there instead of at Lowell.
Willert said leadership at both schools would need to be consulted about possible implications.
"There's no easy answer to this," Nystrom said. "We have to do some of this now to alleviate some of the issues we're dealing with."
JESSIE PERRINE may be reached at jessie.perrine@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5859. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brainerdnews .
