County Leaders Discuss Robbins and Burchfield School Building Programs

Huntsville, TN (2008-11-10) County leaders met last week to discuss the future of the school building program at both Robbins and Burchfield Elementary School.

Architect Neal Richardson with Upland Design Group of Crossville, the firm chosen last year by the county to develop plans for both Robbins and Burchfield Elementary Schools, along with Scott County School Director Sharon Wilson unveiled proposed plans to a joint work session of the Scott County Board of Education and the Scott County Commission last Thursday night in Huntsville.

While plans for the construction of a new Pre-K through 8^th grade school at Robbins had been earlier presented to the Board of Education, Thursday night was the first time most local officials had seen the three different plans proposed for the future of Burchfield Elementary.

At Burchfield, Richardson explained, the county is limited by both the available space on the present campus and the challenge of building on the site while continuing to hold classes. In the plans unveiled last Thursday, Upland Design Group proposed: 1) the construction of a new Pre-K through 8^th grade school; 2) the construction of a new 5^th through 8^th grade school; or 3) the construction of additional classrooms, a new gymnasium and cafeteria onto the present school.

The first option, the construction of a new school, stated Richardson, would require the school system to abandon the current school complex and construct an entire new facility on a new site. While the cost of property acquisition is unknown, the building of a new school at Burchfield, stated Richardson, would cost about $12.3 million dollars. The cost analysis was based on 94,358 square foot building at a construction cost of $115 per square foot. With an inflationary figure added, the square footage estimate, added Richardson, was in line with the cost of Winfield Elementary School, which was built in 2004 for $89.07 per square foot.

Instead of building an entire new school, Upland Design also proposed the construction of a new middle school, grades 5 through 8. In that plan, the school system would utilize the existing campus for Pre-K through 4^th grade and construct a new facility on another site for the upper grade children. The construction of a new middle school, stated Richardson, would be roughly $7.3 million dollars. The cost estimate did not include the acquisition of about 16 acres of property for the new campus, which would need to be located near the existing campus to allow the continued use of the present football field. This option, added Director Wilson, would also require additional staff, including new administrative and janitorial personnel. Transportation costs would also have to be considered.

The final option, the renovation and construction of new classrooms, a gymnasium and cafeteria, would cost about $8 million dollars. The plan would call for minor renovations of the existing facility, mainly converting the current cafeteria into a library and the current library into classroom space. It would include the construction of about 53,000 square feet of new space, including a new cafeteria, gymnasium and a two-story classroom pod for the upper grades. Option three would also require land acquisition, but much less than either of the other two. The plan, stated Richardson, would require the purchase of a 4 acre tract east of the present campus.

At Robbins Elementary, the Board of Education has considered only one option, the construction of a entire new school. The new school, based on a core of 400 students, would cost an estimated $7.4 million dollars.