Authorization of a call for bids on the Phase One renovations planned for Clearview Elementary School in Clear Lake was on the agenda at the regular meeting of the St. Cloud Board of Education this week, according to Clearview Principal Sheri Rutar.  The opening of the bids is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

 

Once finalized, the plans call for the installation of footings to take place this fall, which will allow construction to begin next spring for the six new classrooms and the new gymnasium that will be built in this phase of the project, Rutar said.  The portable classrooms now in use will remain until the new classrooms can be occupied, after which they will be sold by the district administration.

 

The project will create new classrooms for two sections of kindergarten classes, plus first and second grade classrooms. The new gymnasium will be roughly twice the size of the existing facility, Rutar said, while the current facility will be used for special education classroom space.  The plans also call for renovations to the cafeteria area, a new art room and an adaptive physical education area.  This phase of the project is expected to be completed by the start of the 2015-16 school year.

 

Funding for the Phase One project is being done through the “lease-levy” process, which allows the school district to “self-fund” projects without a referendum election because the renovations cover only 20 per cent of the square footage of the existing structure.

 

Upgrades to the heating and cooling system to bring the building into compliance with state code for air quality are also underway.  The new system will include air conditioning, making the building much more livable during the early fall and spring and will also allow expansion of summer programs, Rutar said. Those renovations are funded through the school district’s deferred maintenance budget.

 

Phase Two of the St. Cloud School District renovation program will also hopefully include the expansion of Clearview to a PK-8, Rutar said.  David Leapaldt, senior architect at IIW Minnesota in St. Cloud, is the designer of the Phase One project at Clearview.  He is working with a public relations firm on crafting the language for the proposed referendum questions, which may come before the public as early as May of next year, Rutar said.

 

The referendum process will include a number of public meetings at Clearview to gain public input and provide information on the process as it goes forward.  Rutar said she and others involved in the project will be giving presentations to city officials in Clear Lake and Clearwater at city council meetings early next year as part of the informational process.