I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!! I want to update you on the status of the new building project. You have probably seen activity has begun on the site. Crews have demolished the Commons/Band Room. They have also removed the sidewalks and the retaining wall at the front of the old building. Soon, they will demolish the parking areas and begin the earthwork on the site.
At a Special Board Meeting last Wednesday evening, the Board approved the remaining scope of the project. In a previous update, I informed you that we were facing a significant budget overage from the projected costs. Fortunately, we were able to make reductions that have not significantly reduced the school's square footage. Some changes were made to the school's north end, resulting in the loss of the conference room and a bathroom in the high school office and office space next to the SPED room on the second floor. The remaining reductions won't affect the academic or activity areas of the building.
Some items have been placed on a wishlist, such as playground work, the cafetorium bleachers, and asphalt in the parking lots. There is a high probability that we will be able to capture the wishlist back into the project. The construction budget includes $1 million in contingency and we will continue to earn interest money with our bond and insurance funds. To date, we have earned close to $850,000 between both, which was added to meet the construction budget. We are also looking into grants to raise funds for areas of the building.
Soon, we will have a groundbreaking for the new building and SPT Architecture is working on a fly through video of the new school. If you have been to a board meeting where they showed the building, it is awesome to see the floor plan come to life.
Go Buffalos!!
Mr. Stoddard