It’s crunch time for the South Whidbey School District.
This week, the school board will spend an entire day evaluating how to restructure a district suffering the twin evils of declining enrollment and a deficit of $1.85 million out of the total $17 million budget.
The district has already made deep cuts to staff, both teachers and support personnel, but that only accounts for $1.3 million of the total needed.
“We’ve cut personnel to the point that any more losses will eat into the district’s muscle, not fat,” said board chairman Fred O’Neal. “With all the data we’ve gotten and all the feedback from staff, parents and administrators, to my mind there are only two choices.”
Adding to the troubles, a new report that says fixing up or modernizing school facilities will cost from $17 million to $30.3 million.
That’s if the district decides to keep all of its current schools open.
O’Neal said that, though no one wants to do it, closing Langley Middle School is becoming a solid option.
“Do we keep kids in buildings with lots of space and plenty of amenities, or do we maintain the breadth of programs and outstanding teachers? We can’t do both,” he said.
O’Neal added that the district must cover the basics such as math, English and history.
“What has to give are the electives, those programs students take to prepare them for college, like advanced-placement courses, or for life,” he said.
The cost savings to operate the middle school — pegged at close to $498,000 annually — plus the millions of dollars required to renovate its buildings, make it likely that the school will need to close.
“Saving half a million dollars might translate to five or six teachers, which affects a lot of choices for kids,” he said.
At a recent board workshop, a facilities assessment report was presented, commissioned by the school board from TCF Architecture of Tacoma.
The study will assist the board as it works to restructure the district by providing data on what needs to be fixed. It also provides cost estimates to make repairs, building by building.
Structural, civil and mechanical engineers visited and rated each site, then assigned cost estimates that reflect the amount of work needed: for repairs and deferred maintenance, recommended improvements, full modernization or replacement.
“All of this data is part of the feedback the board needs to make its decision,” said District Superintendent Fred McCarthy. “The numbers are a critical piece to the whole puzzle.”
LMS
Call it modernization or call it replacement. Either way, the price tag of $18 million to $25 million to get the middle school back on its feet may be way beyond the ability of the district.
As architect Brian Fitzgerald told the school board earlier this month: “It’s a tired, old building.”
“No doubt it has a lot of meaning to the community, and enjoys many amenities such as gyms, an auditorium and technical classrooms,” he said. “But there are a host of serious problems to correct before it could be brought to any realistic standards.”
For example, costs to handle basic deferred maintenance at LMS is roughly $1.6 million. Additional improvements identified by engineers raises that number to $6.6 million.
Though characterized as having a number of “charming features,” a full modernization of the current facility would come in at roughly $18 million.
The cost to replace the school at another location is $20 million to $25 million in today’s dollars.
“Given the age of several of the buildings, they are in need of seismic, accessibility and system upgrades,” Fitzgerald said.
Such improvements would allow the school to operate for another 30 years.
The new report also includes the cost for extensive upgrades to bring the buildings to adequate earthquake standards.
During the past several years, the district has explored closing the middle school and selling or leasing the 23-acre property. The two-story 95,000-square-foot structure is the oldest in the district, built in 1935.
But there has been opposition from people who feel having children close to town provides Langley with a positive dynamic. Others point out that replacing the classrooms might cost more than upgrading the school.
SWHS
The report found South Whidbey High School, built in 1981, in good condition.
But the study also listed a number of deferred-maintenance problems. The cost to deal with maintenance is pegged at $3.3 million to $3.5 million. Requested improvements, mainly for a leaky roof and upgrades for the ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems, increases that number to more than $6 million.
“Our HVAC plant has reached the end of its useful life,” said principal Rob Prosch. “It’s often stifling hot or freezing in classrooms on the same floor.”
He added that nothing in the report came as a surprise.
“The staff and students live with this every day of the school year,” Prosch said.
Intermediate School
South Whidbey Intermediate School is in good shape, and the report recommends spending from $1.1 million to $2.4 million to keep it that way.
Primary School
The primary school, most of which was built in 1969, didn’t fare as well. It will cost upwards of $2 million to make upgrades to improve handicapped access, install new fire sprinklers, complete a seismic upgrade and improve other vital systems.
Bayview School
The report was brutally clear about Bayview School: Get rid of it.
“Our opinion is that the cost — $1.5 million to $2.3 million — to fully upgrade the building to meet current codes and extend the life another 30 to 50 years would be too high for value received,” Fitzgerald noted.
Due to the building’s age, more than 100 years, the building is rated as “poor” under current state guidelines, and Fitzgerald added that it might be more economical to relocate the school to another facility.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbey
record.com.
