PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles School District supporters broke down exactly how a proposed $98.25 million bond would be spent to rebuild most of Port Angeles High School at the Port Angeles Business Association meeting Tuesday.
Steve Methner, co-chairman of Port Angeles Citizens for Education, opened with a question-and-answer session about the bond, which will be on the Feb. 10 ballot.
Kelly Pearson, district director of finance and operations, also was available to provide answers to funding and spending questions.
Most of the questions were about how the funds would be used — what the architect will cost, whether there is a contingency built into the bond or if possible overruns might end up costing taxpayers even more than the established budget for the school.
The price tag isn’t just for the construction of the high school itself; it is the total project cost, Methner said.
“For $98 million, we could have an amazing high school,” he said, but he added that such an extravagant high school is not what the School Board ordered.
Methner said a large portion of the total price is the move-in cost — adding the fixtures and equipment necessary to use the buildings — and to pay for the architect, engineering, site fees, building permits, excavating the hillside and other costs associated with preparing the site or legal requirements for construction projects.
McGranahan Architects of Tacoma was hired for a flat fee of $200,000 to create an estimate for the expected cost of a high school and a basic concept based on input from a series of community forums.
The architecture firm, which specializes in school buildings, created a preliminary concept design that incorporated the existing auditorium into a C-shaped single building that makes use of natural light, access to outdoor spaces and with dedicated space for all currently existing shop and vocational programs.
The initial McGranahan concept design has not been selected or approved by the School Board.
If the bond is passed, a final design and engineering contract will go out to bid, and board members will select from the firms that apply for that final contract for design, Pearson said.
She said the cost of architecture and engineering of a large project such as the high school is typically about 10 percent of the final cost.
Methner noted that by law, the district must select the lowest qualified bid and cannot select a contractor based on location.
Another 10 percent is put in reserve for contingencies — for cost overruns or unexpected discoveries.
If the project exceeds $98.25 million, the school district will have to use its own operating funds to cover those costs and cannot increase the bond to pay for it, Methner said.
A 60 percent majority is required for voter passage of a school bond issue.
In addition, there must be a 40 percent voter turnout based on the number of votes cast in the school district in last month’s general election.
The funding would replace eight classroom buildings and refurbish the auditorium on the 39.7-acre sloped campus overlooking Port Angeles.
A property owner with a home assessed at $100,000 would pay an additional $160 annually in property tax — about $13.33 per month, according to a district tax impact analysis.
The School Board decided to renovate the 1,122-seat auditorium — known as the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center — and build the new school around it.
They also declined to replace or refurbish the existing 51,379-square-foot gymnasium complex, though some minor repairs are planned.
Replacement or refurbishment of the gymnasium is estimated to cost $16 million to $18 million.
Board members have said that if the school project comes in at or under budget, funds that remain after completion of the planned project might be used for gymnasium improvements or replacement.
The board and a school district committee have been working on a bond recommendation for nearly two years after directors determined that the increasing cost of maintaining the older schools or refurbishing existing buildings in the district is approaching the cost of replacement.
Six of the 10 existing buildings on the campus were built in 1953, two in 1958 and two in 1978.
The replacement plan would not increase or decrease classroom space, but the design would increase the overall square footage from 222,000 to 237,000 due to creating indoor hallways in place of the current outdoor walkways.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.