A gymnasium and eight classrooms worth $3.2 million for Osgood Kindergarten Center and a $2 million fitness center at the high school are top building priorities for the coming year, the West Fargo School Board's planning and development committee decided Wednesday.
Other high school improvements - such as new flooring, wall coverings and a generator, an addition to Leidal Education Center for administrative offices, and improvements to the grounds of Cheney Middle School - round out projects the group pegged as the best to start next year.
They'll go to the full board Monday for consideration.
Decisions on the projects are needed now so planning, bidding and construction can start in time for most of the work to be finished this summer, administrators said.
Four Osgood classrooms would be finished by the start of the school year next fall, and the other four would be ready the following year, board members were told.
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The projects are worth about $7.6 million.
West Fargo has about $10 million available for construction projects: an estimated $5 million in one-time supplemental funds distributed by the state, and another $5 million expected from a bond issue that will be paid back using building levy funds.
Committee members suggested delaying two projects considered priorities by administrators pending further study. They are:
- A $546,200 remodeling of the bus barn office, drivers' lounge and service bay.
A $172,000 remodeling of the Tintes Building at the bus barn site to accommodate the central freezer and cooler. Committee members said they wanted to determine whether the district should continue to run its own buses, or contract that service, and whether improvements should be made at the current bus barn, or if a new, centrally located facility should be built.
Other projects recommended for later action are:
- Expand and renovate the high school food service area's receiving, storage and food preparation areas, $1,066,800.
- Districtwide repairs and upkeep for facilities, $500,000.
- Berger Elementary School track decommissioning, $69,000.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583
