Developer fees and project savings totaling approximately $3.5 million, which must be used for construction or facilities improvements within the next five years, is expected to mature at the end of June 2013 in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District
The OJUSD Board of Trustees heard a report about district facilities at the regular meeting on May 14 and the steps that have been taken so far to prepare to use those monies once they are available, as they are of the “use it or lose it” variety.
OJUSD Superintendent Marc Malone reported that the District Facilities Committee visited and walked every land asset and facility owned by the district. The committee met regularly and reviewed the identified potential projects at the facilities, then prioritized them for the board’s review.
There were 12 different recommended construction and renovation projects and the committee listed the top nine in order, leaving a $500,000 cushion based on current costs of construction as provided by the state architect.
The first priority is to move the district’s Central Kitchen, which serves 5,200 students, to its J Street property on three-quarters of an acre. It requires building a new facility from the ground up at a cost of about $1.1 million. The current Central Kitchen, Malone said, is in 35-year-old portables.
Two projects comprise the second priority (2a and 2b), which is to renovate the multi-purpose rooms at both Fair Oaks and Cloverland elementary schools. Each will see an addition of between 2,200-2,300 square feet at an estimated cost of $670,000 and $686,000 respectively. Of note, Sierra View Elementary School has a 5,000 square foot MPR and Fair Oaks is has the highest elementary enrollment.
Third is to expand the library at Fair Oaks by 384 square feet at a cost of about $101,000. Fourth is to fence the east side of Sierra View at a cost of about $40,000 so that all classrooms are within a fenced boundary. Fifth is to install electronic bus circle gates at Magnolia Elementary School at a cost of about $45,000, saving on custodial time. Sixth is the installation of a new shade structure at Oakdale Junior High School at a cost of about $150,000. Seventh is a renovation of Magnolia auditorium with a stage extension at $108,000, lighting at $62,000, and sound at $62,000. Eighth is to renovate the vocational education classrooms at Oakdale High School, but that cost is to be determined. Malone said they wanted some flexibility with the OHS classrooms, but they don’t have definite plans yet and wanted it on the list.
More details were listed on the report including potential options for improvements to various properties and sites. Malone also provided the costs per square foot of each different type of facility.
