Plan Details - Bond Referendum 2/9/21 - Red Rock Central School

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Last Updated December 31, 2020

Plan Details

Question 1 - New PreK-12 Facility
Question 1 would approve a facilities bond to build a new preK-12 school adjacent to our existing school. More information on the new building and the planning that has gone into can be viewed below.

Question 2: Wrestling Room and Additional Gym
Our current facility has a wrestling room and construction of a new one is not included in Q1. In order to reduce square footage, we had to reduce our current number of gym stations. Voters can choose to add an additional gym station along with a dedicated wrestling room in Q2

Question 3: Decommissioning
We heard during community meetings that many people wanted input on deciding whether to decommission the Lamberton Building. The district didn’t decommission Storden and Jeffers and Sanborn. Decommissioning basically means moth balling the building. We are doing decommission and demolition, including abatement. Money is for the demo. Long Term Facility Maintenance fund is for abatement.

WHY NEW? Why Not Renovate?
Renovation just doesn’t cut it. The cost of renovation is an estimated $32 million - including $18 million for immediate infrastructure and code compliance updates.

With renovation, there would still be large sections over 100 years old that require a higher cost of maintenance.
Structural limitations would still negatively impact bringing educational spaces into the 21st century.
A remodel cannot fully address accessibility requirements - without an elevator, we would still not be up to code.
Plus, a remodel only buys an estimated 20 years before another major investment is needed.

What would the new building include?
A new building would:

Create a space for student collaboration and project based learning;
Address ADA needs in the auditorium, gym, and throughout building;
Create safe and secure entrances with visitor checkpoints and camera upgrades;
Add automated lockdown notification capabilities in the event of a school crisis;
Eliminate instruction in portables, hallways, and cafeteria;
Increase teaching space in and community access to gymnasiums;
Create new and efficient mechanical, electric, and data systems;
Add sufficient parking and proper separation of pedestrians and vehicle/bus traffic.

What would the new building look like?
No architectural or engineering work on a new facility will be completed until the project is funded. If the referendum is approved, a contractor would be selected and they would conduct a process that heavily involves district administration and staff members, and may involve some community communication and engagement, to help with design details. The new school would likely open in fall 2023.

How was the cost of a new building calculated?
In order to accurately calculate costs, the major features of the new building were built into the costing methodology, including:

A 500 seat auditorium
2 (dedicated) gym stations
Approximately 118,700 sq. ft.
New Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment
New playground
Parking and bus drop-off area
Code required storm shelter

In addition, the consultant looked at Red Rock Central School Board policy on class size and academic programs. The new building is sized to have basically the same number of classrooms as the existing building, of which most are undersized compared to MDE guidelines. The new classrooms will be larger and meet MDE guidelines. The community has supported smaller class sizes. So from a potential enrollment standpoint, the building will be more than adequate for years based on demographic projections. The auditorium stage will be just that, only a stage dedicated for the space. The third gym space and wrestling room in question 2 would be included to provide additional dedicated practice and competition space.

Finally, the consultant works with the school board to understand the needs of the community to determine the level of quality of materials. The cost estimate includes quality materials and systems, but not “Cadillac” quality. The focus is to lower the overall life-cycle cost of a building, paying attention both to upfront cost as well as long-term maintenance costs.

How does the cost of the construction of the new building compare to other new schools?
This is a difficult question to answer because the answer depends on a number of factors: cost of property, the types of learning spaces (such as gyms, cafeterias, performing arts centers, etc.).

According to the district’s construction consultant, the costs of new construction in the area is anywhere between $320-$365/sqft – these numbers are higher in metropolitan areas. Red Rock Central is proposing a new building at 118,700 sqft which is $347.50/sqft. So the new school would be in the middle of the new construction costs range.

How can I learn more about the current school building and its condition?
A great deal of study and evaluation of our current school campus was completed by our team of consultants. The result of their analysis can be found on the district’s Facility Planning web page.