The plans are right but the price tag is not.
Pullman School Board members Wednesday delayed final approval of design plans for the new Lincoln Middle School until cost estimates and budgets can be aligned.
"The general design is very acceptable," board member Claudia Peavy said. "What we need to do is come up with some alternatives to bring it within budget."
Voters passed a $15.4 million bond in February to reconstruct the aging school. The estimate presented by Northwest Architectural Co. exceeded the project budget by about $747,000.
School officials said they are not overly concerned about the gap, because the estimate includes many amenities that can be scaled back or eliminated altogether.
"You're typically about a million bucks out," said Superintendent Tom Rockefeller. "You try to push for the top of the line. We're going to work through this pretty quickly."
Board members and the school's design committee will meet with architects next week to sort through $1.08 million worth of cost-cutting options offered by the architects.
The board expects to approve a design plan by Jan. 22.
Possibilities for cutting expenses range from using less expensive building materials to eliminating sinks or dimmable light switches in some classrooms.
Board members hope enough money can be saved for the district to afford some extras for the school. Improvements to the school's track and football field are among the items on the wish list.
Although a few amenities may not be available when the building is finished in 2005, the overall design is expected to closely reflect the one architects presented Wednesday night.
Plans call for demolishing all but 25,000 square feet of the original school, which would be remodeled. Another 70,000 feet of new construction will be added.
The district was able to afford about 6,000 more square feet than officials had originally planned when the bond was presented to voters. Rockefeller said there are no plans to cut the added space to meet the budget.
The new school will have space for 600 students and include areas where additional classrooms could be built.
The existing building is strained to accommodate the 500 students now enrolled, said principal Bill Motsenbocker.
Some teachers have to switch classrooms throughout the day because there isn't enough space, he said.
The reconstruction will provide an additional, larger gymnasium for students. The gym could be accessible to the public after hours.
The existing gym has warped floors that keep students from having games at their own school, Motsenbocker said.
Because there is so little available gym space, the school cannot offer year-round physical education to kids, and sports teams have to rotate their practices. Athletes often have to wait at school for an hour or two for their practices to start, Motsenbocker said.
The current gym also serves as the school's lunch room, which can be an inconvenience for students. The reconstruction will include a separate commons area where students can eat.
Vivian Hu is looking forward to the day when Lincoln Middle School students won't have to worry about stray basketballs getting in the way of lunch.
"They bounce off the table in your food," the sixth-grader said.
Students and teachers also will have access to a larger, improved library and an audio-video lab, where the school's Channel 3 student news program will be produced.
Students with special needs will have updated facilities as well.
The reconstruction will include working science labs, which don't exist in the original building.
Students do experiments at their desks in regular classrooms, that don't have enough sinks or electrical outlets, said science teacher Lynda Oldow.
"When you get this many kids walking around with test tubes, it gets interesting," she said.
Oldow also looks forward to having an office connected to her classroom. Most teachers don't have offices now.
After construction begins in the summer, students will attend school in the older parts of the building, Motsenbocker said. Staff and students will move into the new areas as they are finished. The entire project is scheduled to be finished by fall of 2005.
QUICKREAD
What happened
The Pullman School Board delayed approval of the plans for Lincoln Middle School reconstruction. Estimates presented by the architects were about $747,000 over budget.
What it means
District officials, building design committee members and architects need to choose from $1.08 million in cost-cutting proposals to get the project within budget.
What's next
The school board and the building design
committee will meet with architects next week to discuss ways to cut costs. The board expects to have a solution by its next meeting on Jan. 22.
