A new addition is on the horizon at Milford Elementary School, but the district has a ways to go before breaking ground.
The school board authorized Superintendent Kevin Wingard to advertise for bids at its Oct. 8 meeting and contracted with Carlson West Povondra Architects of Omaha for the construction project.
Carlson West Povondra had already worked with the district to draft preliminary plans for an addition.
At its Nov. 12 meeting, Wingard told the board that the architect’s estimated numbers are higher than originally expected, partly because of new steel tariffs—a trend other entities in the middle of construction projects also are seeing.
Bids on the project were due on Dec. 14.
The board has been discussing the project over the past couple of years as elementary enrollment numbers are on the rise.
“We know we’re a room or two short (for next year),” Wingard said. “In two years, we’re up 40-some kids just in this building alone.”
This past summer, the school set up a portable classroom for music classes because additional classroom space was needed inside the building.
Though the board has considered adding more portables, Wingard said he is not in favor of the idea because it will cost a significant amount of money that could be put toward a permanent addition instead.
“Any further portables we have will have to have water and sewer,” he said. “If we keep that portable any longer (the music room), we’ll have to run our intercom system out there and our fire alarm system out there.”
Since students are only in the music room for a short amount of time, it does not have to have water and sewer service. A portable set up as a more traditional classroom would, because students would spend most of their day in it.
Currently, the school has a staff person designated to notify those in the music room about announcements and fire alarms.
Wingard said students on their way to and from music class disrupt the physical education classes as they enter and exit the building through the gym to get to the portable.
“There’s a lot of things we’re trying to figure out as we’re going. We’re moving kids a lot,” he said. “We’ve got to do something. This project will cost a lot more, but long-term, I’m not in favor of filling up an area with portables.”
A permanent addition would be paid for from the district’s special building fund and general fund, not a bond.
“That’s why those funds are there,” Wingard said.
He said he anticipates using the school foundation for a lease purchase on the project.
The new addition would connect the hallway near the kindergarten rooms and the hallway near the district office. Part of the paved play area on the backside of the building would be closed in and filled with classrooms.
It would also create a multipurpose room that could be used for large art or science projects or to expand the cafeteria—a need board President Dave Welsch said he observed first-hand.
“It’s loud. It’s crowded,” Welsch said.
Wingard said it currently takes about two hours to get students through lunch.
“We just don’t have enough space to do more than one section at once,” he said.
Students eat in the hallway and outside when weather permits.
The addition would add 200 square feet to the preschool area, which is governed by state regulations that differ from those for older students. The district must allow a certain amount of both indoor and outdoor square footage per preschool student.
“Our preschool numbers continue to grow,” Wingard said.
The addition would allow the music room to move back inside the building, and classes could once again be grouped by grade level instead of being spread out like they are now.
The project went out for bids in mid-November. Wingard said he expects to have cost figures to present to the board by mid-January.
emily@sewardindependent.com
