The Deer River School District has experienced growth at King Elementary for the last 4 years that has created a need for more space. As a result, two projects, or Phases, have been designed and proposed.
Phase I will begin in late August or early September of 2015 with the construction of a 4-classroom Kindergarten addition. These classrooms, unlike the current Kindergarten rooms at King, will all be sized appropriately for Kindergarteners and will include some small breakout rooms for individual or small group work. Freed up Kindergarten rooms will be repurposed to take some of the space pressures off the building including special education classrooms, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms, nurse's office, staff workroom, art and science space, and music space.
A new media center and computer lab will also be included in new or renovated space.
Phase I schedule: *May-design input with kindergarten teachers *July-bidding/awarding of bids *August-construction begins *January-February 2016-completion of Phase I
Phase II will include: ◦ the Kindergarten addition mentioned above; ◦7 Early Childhood rooms added on to the end of the Kindergarten addition; ◦New Cafeteria/Kitchen/Gymnasium space that can be utilized by Boys and Girls Club so BGC children will not have to travel to the high school; ◦Old cafeteria renovation to become a media center and computer lab; ◦Opportunity for deliveries to be made in the back of the building rather than right in front of the school; ◦A renovation budget that would enable Deer River Schools to renovate the repurposed spaces right away - for example, the current staff lounge will become the nurses office; ◦Lockers put in hallways to improve organization and reduce any lice problems; ◦Steam boilers (old and inefficient) replaced with new high efficiency hot water ◦Some security improvements at the high school like panic doors or further security to the front entrance ◦Partnerships with Deer River community organizations. A new senior center will be included in the project, but with separate entrances to promote great cross-generational opportunities. Community Cafe (which serves 150 free meals two nights a week in the DR community) will have access to the kitchen.
Note about Phase II- •The school board considered a number of options when deciding which project to move forward with, but were unanimous in their belief that the district should try to get the project that the school district really needs, and that voting would be done based on principle and information.
The Phase II Schedule will look like this: *May-school board approves Phase II plan *June, July, August-community dialogue *September-community vote; design input sessions with community and staff *October/November-design development *November/December-Phase II bids awarded *May/June 2016-Phase II construction begins *September 2017-completion of Phase II construction
Additional important details: •The Kindergarten/EC addition will be on property the district has acquired on 5th street north of the south parking lot. Facility consultants recommended we acquire that property if it was available even if there was no project so there was a more controlled buffer between school property and private property.
•2 parcels of land used by the district for the additional building space was originally owned by Habitat for Humanity. The district was able to assist in negotiating a land swap with Habitat for Humanity’s land. A rumor has circulated that the city is losing tax revenue as a result of the district using the land previously owned by Habitat for Humanity. The project actually increases property tax revenue for the city and helps the city sell a lot they have had for sale for many years. On the land the district is using for the construction project, the taxes in 2015 would have totaled less than $1500. The property taxes on the new Habitat house in the Aspenwood addition are estimated to be between $2000 and $2500. This means there will be more property taxes generated by the one new home in Aspenwood than all the property the district acquired for the building project combined.
Why now and why do this at all?
Why now?
increase in student enrollment-30% increase in kindergarteners in the last 10 years
issues with current sized rooms for kindergarten students
current servicing of students in closets, hallways
a September 8th vote will minimize cost to taxpayers
Why at all?
Early childhood will be expanded and all programs would be brought into one facility, improving access, efficiency, and collaboration.
Community collaboration will be improved. A new Senior Center has been identified by a number of groups as a community need. ISD #317 received a grant to explore a community multi-age center by renovating an existing vacant building (the Rajala building was explored, but due to building concerns was deemed to not be a good fit.
Boys and Girls Club will locate at the elementary, where the students that attend are and where the best space would be.
Student health space and facilities will be improved by expanding the health office and adding lockers necessary to improve health concerns (i.e. spread of lice).
Improved efficiency of heating systems by eliminating a 50 year old steam boiler with more a efficient hot water system.
School security improvements at the high school.
Intergenerational activities, increasing the feeling of community and opportunities for collaboration.
How does this impact me?
Different estimated costs have been discussed over the last few months, but those have changed because the scope of work has changed and interest rates have changed. Based on the project approved during the last week of May by the school board, a $100,000 home will have an annual tax impact of $30.00 ($2.50/month); a $150,000 will have an annual tax impact of $53.00 ($4.42/month). It is important to note that tax impact is not proportionate, meaning you can't just double the $100,000 number to calculate the impact on a $200K house. For more information on how the proposed bond issue will affect your property taxes, click here.
Conceptual rendering of the new cafeteria space
Conceptual rendering of repurposed media center
Conceptual rendering of senior citizen center space
Current Space Issues
These pictures are examples of places where school staff are working one-on-one with students. Students will do best when they can work with staff in spaces that are more quiet and private.
Kitchen storage
Small kitchen to serve 450+ meals at lunch
Lack of storage space
Office shared by three people working with students