Lebanon
Officials with Prismatic Services will update the School Board tonight on a draft three-year facilities master plan that highlights where each school building could be improved. The firm was hired in November to provide a component of the district’s broader strategic plan, according to Superintendent Joanne Roberts.
“I was very pleased that we’re not looking at what would be considered major renovations,” Roberts said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Instead, Prismatic recommended modifying and upgrading the district’s existing schools.
Lebanon’s current four-school system is the result of consolidation and the opening of Lebanon Middle School in 2012. Faced with falling class sizes and with the hope of saving money, the district sold off four properties and closed four schools.
However, a recent increase in elementary school enrollment and space needs for pre-K and kindergarten programs forced the district to hire a firm to “look at all our buildings as a whole,” School Board Chairman Jeff Peavey said.
The district and consultants held a series of community forums on buildings in the fall, and Prismatic employees took time to visit each school and speak with administrators, Roberts said, noting that the consultants said the district’s buildings cared for properly.
According to a summary of the consultant’s report, the SAU’s building on Seminary Hill “needs to be reconfigured for efficient and proper space use.” That will require the second and third floors of the building to be renovated, and Prismatic recommends using the first floor for either a pre-K program or a combination of meeting space, maintenance and “other tenants.”
Replacement of windows, updating the mechanical system and electrical and plumbing work could cost a combined $886,000 in future spending, Prismatic estimated.
Improvements at the Hanover Street School are estimated to cost $1,578,000, which includes repaving parking lots and replacing its HVAC system.
Prismatic suggested the pre-K program at the school be moved to another location and its space be turned into “teacher collaborative space.” The consulting firm also called for a redesign of the school’s kitchen — which would allow it to also serve the high school simultaneously in a separate line — as well as construction of a library on par with the Mount Lebanon School’s and turning the Blue Room into a teacher lounge and workspace.
The Mount Lebanon School also should relocate its pre-K program or risk having to build additional classroom space, according to Prismatic. The firm also recommended building a separate cafeteria and using the Dana Street property as a drop-off and pick-up area for cars.
About $112,000 is also needed for renovation of the school’s floors with epoxy sealed concrete.
The district should take steps to “de-sterilize” Lebanon Middle School’s ambiance and create a fully functioning and equipped auditorium at the high school, according to the summary.
The consultants also recommended that the middle school replace its playground at a cost of about $50,000, and the high school is in need of a repaved parking lot and replaced HVAC system, which would total more than $3 million.
“We are dealing with three buildings that were built in the early or late ‘50s,” and the good news is that they’re in structurally good shape, said Dana Arey, the district’s director of facilities.
“It’s not to say that we’re in perfect shape,” but the core of the structures are in a good place, he said.
The district’s maintenance garage is also in need of repair, according to Prismatic. It recommends options ranging from a renovation, estimated to cost $246,000, to construction of a new administrative building on the Evans Drive property south of the Hanover Street School and using the existing maintenance building as a receiving facility. The second option would cost an estimated $2.7 million.
Arey said it’s unlikely he or other administrators would recommend replacing the maintenance facility before other projects, however, because it doesn’t further the academic needs of students.
The board will meet with Prismatic president Tatia Prieto at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Lebanon Middle School. After a final plan is finished by the firm, it will go to the district’s finance and facilities committee, which will be tasked with making recommendations on which projects to pursue and how to best finance them.
The district also plans to hold a community forum on the master plan at 6 p.m. on April 28 at Lebanon Middle School.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.