Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
SAN JON — Members of the San Jon Municipal Schools board learned last week it would be nearly $7 million cheaper to build two new high-school gymnasiums than renovate its current facilities.
The board and administrators discussed by videoconference their gymnasium options during a work session Oct. 14 with two members of Formative Architecture, which is tasked to design a new school for the district.
Weeks ago in discussions with architects, board members were inclined to preserve the existing Ed Lee Activities Complex and a 1960 gym on campus.
But board members warmed to the idea of two new high-school gymnasiums after two other school districts ran into problems keeping their old gymnasiums.
The Mosquero school district opted to keep its current gym while building a new school. But renovations to the gym revealed problems with mold and its foundation and roof that will add millions of dollars to the cost.
Work on a gymnasium at Des Moines has run into problems as well, reported project manager Ian Harmon.
Formative’s Owen Kramme estimated renovating San Jon’s two existing gymnasiums would cost nearly $19 million, while building two new gyms would cost about $12 million.
The cost difference would be about $6.8 million, though Harmon insisted the estimated renovation costs were too low.
Formative estimated the cost per square foot for renovations at $700. Harmon estimated it would be $800 or higher.
The initial plan for San Jon’s new school included one high-school gymnasium and one middle-school gym.
Board members and administrators advocating building two high-school gyms because they would be used for physical education classes by the middle school and high school simultaneously.
Also, both gyms would be used simultaneously during sporting events when visiting teams bring boys and girls teams from long distances.
Superintendent Alan Umholtz also noted both of San Jon’s current gyms were full during the annual carnival the previous week.
Formative’s Christine Williams presented plans for two new high-school gyms – one with a seating capacity of 400 and the other, 300. The complex would have four, 500-square-foot locker rooms.
“We’re not asking for too much,” Williams said.
Kramme recommended another board work session to go over the plan before presenting it to the New Mexico Public Schools Authority for approval.
“I think we’ve got a really good case for this,” Umholtz said of Formative’s revised plan.
San Jon voters last year approved a $250,000 general obligation bond that made the district eligible for a large, no-match grant of at least $22 million from the authority to build a new school.
The authority recommended a new school at San Jon because repairing longstanding problems at the current campus — leaky roofs, an obsolete boiler system and poor energy efficiency among them — would have approached $20 million.
The new school would be about 33,000 square feet, designed for a maximum of 150 students. The current campus takes up about 83,000 square feet, built when its enrollment was larger.
In other action during the board’s regular meeting:
— The board approved a change order of $3,000 to fix drainage problems for the school’s new track being constructed.
— The board approved a revision of the school calendar that addresses a date change for the annual Missoula Children’s Theatre from April 25 to May 9.
— The board approved out-of-state travel for the school’s state-champion FFA poultry judging team, which will compete at the national convention this week in Indianapolis.
— Administrative assistant Stacy Kent provided board members a draft of a proposed artificial intelligence policy she obtained from the Alamogordo school district. The board will hold a first reading on the plan during its November meeting.
— Athletic director Bobby Kandel presented proposed designs for uniforms and warm-up jackets for the school’s track teams.