USD 443 continues Middle School discussion

The USD 443 Board of Education continued to discuss options Monday for an additional middle school in Dodge City.
    Board members spoke with Tom Montgomery from GossenLivingston Architecture about the details of each proposal. These included floor plans and preliminary cost estimates for renovating Dodge City Middle School, and either renovating Hennessey Hall or building a new middle school facility.
    Dodge City Middle School would be renovated and expanded under either plan. The proposal calls for changes to many areas of the campus including the cafeteria, library and gymnasium.
    "We need to work on the cafeteria and library," said Board member Ethel Peterson. "I don't see any reason why we couldn't be the best in academics and athletics. If we don't do it at the middle school, we won't do it at high school."
    This school year there will be almost 500 students in both 3rd and 4th grade. If all these children remain in the district for middle school, there will be almost 1,000 middle school students in the next few years, which would further increase the need for new facilities.
    "We can't just build what we need, we also have to look at what we will need," said Chris Rostetter, vice president of the Board.
    While going through each option, several concerns were raised about the renovation to Hennessey Hall. According to Montgomery, changes would need to be made for increased storm drainage and sewage. Also, San Jose would need to be expanded to accommodate the increased traffic generated by the school.
    The current cost estimate of $34.2 million for renovation to Hennessey does not account for these changes.
     Superintendent of Schools, Alan Cunningham, said the city would most likely absorb the costs for public street improvement, while the district would need to pay for changes made to the school property for parking and pick-up/drop-off areas.
  Montgomery provided Board members with a possible timeline for the proposed renovations.                  
     The bond election is scheduled for January 2009. If it passed, design plans would be finalized for renovations to begin at Hennessey Hall in January 2010, to be completed in June or July 2011. This would allow construction to begin in May 2011 at the Dodge City Middle School, which would be completed as soon as January 2013.
    Upon completion of Hennessey, Dodge City Middle School would need to be vacated for renovations to that facility, said Montgomery. During this time, all middle school students would attend school at Hennessey Hall.
    Initial estimated costs for option one (renovation to Hennessey and the Dodge City Middle School) are currently $66 million.
    If the district recommends building a new 500-student middle school and renovating the current middle school, the total cost will be approximately $67.7 million. However, if the district decided to make this a 2-story school to house 1,000 students the total cost of the project would drop to $59 million. And finally, the plan to build a brand new, 310,000 square foot campus for 1,000 students would cost $72 million and take two years to complete.
    The proposed 30-acre campus to accommodate 1,000 students would consist of two independent school sections joined by a common athletic space and cafeteria, Montgomery said.
    A telephone survey of 400 Dodge City residents was conducted in March and April 2008 by DeSieghardt Strategic Communications. The survey found the public favored renovating Hennessey Hall for use as a middle school over building a new campus.
    The Board took the public’s survey results into consideration while weighing their options.
    Rostetter sees more benefits to renovating Hennessey Hall for use as a second middle school.
    "I believe this is what Dodge City, our students and community need," Rostetter said. "It’s our best money spent."
    The Board will continue to explore these options and is expected to give a recommended course of action on August 11.

Reach Cherise Forno at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at t.cherise.forno@dodgeglobe.com.