Plans nearly complete on school additions

Plans are moving forward on the first phase of the 2010 Rollover Bond projects, which include additions to Eagle Valley Middle and Empire Elementary schools.

"The concepts are defined on both of them," said owner's representative Mike Mitchell, who is overseeing the project. "The construction documents at Empire are about 90 percent complete."

Mitchell, former operations manager for the district who was hired to manage the bond projects, updated the Carson City School Board on Tuesday.

He said the plan at Empire Elementary School is to construct two new wings to house the fourth- and fifth-grades.

The nearly 25,000 additional square feet will eliminate the need for the portable classrooms being used there.

"It puts the whole school underneath one roof so the kids don't have to go outside from one building to the next," Mitchell said. "That allows for better supervision, security and efficiency."

He said it also will help the bottom line.

"There will be significant energy and operational savings," he said. "It's a lot cheaper to operate a new, efficient building rather than those old portables."

Some remodeling to the existing building also is planned, including swapping the locations of the administration office and the library so the office is more accessible to visitors.

At Eagle Valley Middle School, plans include a new gymnasium that would seat about 750.

"The entire school will be able to fit at the same time a basketball game is being played," Mitchell said.

The existing gymnasium will be combined with the cafeteria to create a multipurpose room where students can eat and assemblies can be held.

As it is now, lunch is divided into three different sessions because the cafeteria cannot accommodate the entire student body.

A grassy field where students can wait before and after school also will be added, and the parent pick-up and drop-off lanes will be extended with more parking along the way.

The first projects the representative would be responsible for overseeing are the proposed improvements to Empire Elementary School and Eagle Valley Middle School, which together cost $13 million.

The 10-year rollover bond was approved by voters in November's election and will be divided into three phases.

In the first phase, every school in the district will receive improvements, ranging from heating and lighting upgrades, to increased handicap accesses and heightened security. It will cost $25 million, with Empire and Eagle Valley making up $13 million of that.

The second phase will be $10 million to begin in 2013 and be completed in 2014. It is expected to address needs at Pioneer High School and in career and technical arts at Carson High School.

The third phase of the bond will be designated to upgrade technology throughout the district.

Mitchell said construction at both schools are scheduled to begin by the end of August and should be complete in a year's time.