Publication Date: Friday Feb 6, 1998

SCHOOLS: Board ponders fate of extra $10 million

An extra $10 million in interest income has prompted Palo Alto school officials to consider building more permanent classrooms, rather than adding portables, under the Building for Excellence bond project.

"We can dramatically reduce the numbers of portables on the elementary campuses," Superintendent Don Phillips said, adding that the extended building schedule will allow the district to earn the extra interest income. "Under the existing plan we are looking at eight to nine on some campuses. We could take it down to three or four per campus."

Phillips said that two portables at each elementary are used for daycare, so perhaps only one or two classes would be in portables if the new plan is implemented.

Doug Evans, construction consultant with Vanir Construction Management, estimated that putting in a permanent classroom, instead of a portable, has an additional cost of $100,000 to $120,000.

The district's current proposal calls for using $2.75 million of the extra $10 million for new and upgraded construction. There will also be $1.5 million going toward adding storage to elementary classrooms.

A final decision is expected by early March.

Phillips said the secondary schools need to be prepared to house 1,200 students at the middle schools and 1,600 at high schools. Gunn High school would receive the most new buildings. The Arastradero Road campus already has 12 portables, and could receive more if the 1,600-student mark is eclipsed.

Plans are still up in the air, because if a joint city-school library ever becomes a reality at Gunn, the current library could be turned into classrooms. School board president Susie Richardson said the board would put some pressure on the city to make a decision on the library soon.

Like the other $143 million from the Building for Excellence project, most of the money will be split evenly between the elementary schools and the secondary schools. There will be $1 million set aside to improve security systems at the all PAUSD schools, and $500,000 will be kept in a contingency fund.

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