Spring 2001
|
|
|
|
Smart Construction for More Efficient Schools
 Assistant Superintendent Mike Burris shows students a drawing of Heritage Elementary, a prototype design similar to five other Wake schools. |
PLAN 2000, the new school building program, provides the Wake County Public School System an opportunity to share some of its money-saving measures with the community.
"We constantly evaluate the design and construction processes to find ways to build quality schools even more efficiently," said Mike Burriss, assistant superintendent for facilities.
One measure of efficiency is the reuse of school building designs, called prototypes.
Reusing designs typically saves between three and six months in design time, saves between $300,000 and $500,000, and allows for design improvements and modifications. The school system has employed this financial strategy for many years. In fact, over half of Wake's school buildings are repeated designs.
Middle Creek High, financed in an earlier building program, is a reuse of three-story Green Hope (1999) and Wakefield (2000) high schools. By working from a previous design, the school system will save $12/square foot in construction costs at Middle Creek.
Continued Savings
Wake schools will continue to utilize cost-saving, timesaving prototypes. For instance, Heritage Elementary will be the sixth reuse of the 1997 Timber Drive design. With prototypes, the design fee and bids become progressively less expensive with each use of the design.
Changes in Code
Since school designs are based on curriculum, as educational
programs change the WCPSS has to revise space standards and
educational specifications. Sometimes a
prototype can be adjusted to reflect the changes; such as
at
Assistant Superintendent Mike Burris shows these fourth- and
fifth-graders a drawing of Heritage Elementary, a prototype
design similar to five other Wake schools.
Heritage Elementary, and Holly Ridge, Reedy Creek and Salem middle schools. Other times, the changes are extensive and modifying an existing design would be too difficult.
"Changes in code can be of such magnitude that if we try to modify the existing prototype, it creates serious cost implications," said Burriss. "We study and evaluate designing new prototypes versus adapting existing plans, weigh in all the variables, and see what has the best value."
The use of prototype designs is just one part of the WCPSS
commitment to build schools efficiently and maximize the return
on the community's investment in public education. Last fall,
Wake voters approved a $500 million bond referendum to finance
a new building program through 2004. With $500 million in
bonds and $50 million in pay-as-you-go funds, PLAN 2000 will
add 14 new schools, renovate or expand 96 others, and eliminate
100 mobiles.
For more information, contact Kristin Wood, WCPSS Auxiliary Services, 856-8036, or visit our website at www.wcpss.net/auxiliary-services/prototypes.html.
New Roof Brings Peace Of Mind On Rainy Nights
When it rains, the teachers and staff at Carroll Middle School
don't worry now. They have a new roof over their heads. The
old leaking roof that threatened their building, equipment,
and books has been replaced.
 Carroll Middle Assistant Principal Thomas Filer |
"When I wake in the middle of the night to pouring rain, I can go back to sleep now. I couldn't before," said Assistant Principal Thomas Filer. "I would have to get to school with the custodians by 5 a.m. to see what classrooms we would have to abandon for the day. Then we had other rooms with minor leaks where we would have to clean up water off the floor."
The school was built in 1965, and its original roof was flat with drains in the roof and lines running down through the walls into the storm drains.
"Over the years, that had been deteriorating and failing," said Filer. "We had a lot of problems when it rained, and the problems were accelerating."
The new roof
About a year ago, contractors arrived at Carroll to put on a new roof and renovate the school's kitchen and cafeteria. One of Filer's daily tasks was to make sure students and educators were safe and contractors had the access they needed to work efficiently.
"They tore off the old roof down to the steel deck and repaired decking where they needed to and started erecting a frame," said Filer. "It was done in four phases. They started at one end of the building and worked around. They took off the whole old roof in one sweep and then covered that with a rubber membrane. Then they came back over that, constructing the new standing seam raised metal roof."
During the summer there were only a few school administrators on campus and the contractors work progressed quickly. Filer worked closely with contractors providing them access to the building during the week and sometimes on the weekend.
Safety first
When students returned to school for the start of the 2000-2001
school year, Filer determined where contractors would be working
on the roof and coordinated with teachers so they could move
into other classrooms, space at the media center, or mobile
classrooms brought to the campus to help the school through
the construction project. On the days a crane was brought
in to lift construction materials onto the roof, Filer vacated
classroom space underneath to make sure students and staff
were safe.
"There were a few days when I was alerted by the construction foreman, and we worked around that," said Filer. "We would move classes into the media center for the day. There were some days at the end of the last school year when it was noisy while they were taking off the old asphalt and gravel layers. The teachers let us know when they needed to be re-located."
The new roof and kitchen improvements provide a better facility
for students. The cafeteria is now cool and well-lit. Filer
said he's looking forward to energy savings thanks to the
new roof.
"We work with the EnergySavers program here," he said. "We
get graded and earn rebates. We expect the roof improvements
to have an impact on our energy costs, too."
Carroll Middle School Roofing Project
CONTRACTOR: SPS Corporation
DESIGNER: Law Engineering & Environmental Services,
Inc.
CONSTRUCTION TIME: April 2000 - January 2001 (four
phase project)
For more information, contact Bill Poston, WCPSS Communications, 850-1829
WCPSS Facility Services Projects
|
In design: |
27 |
|
Under construction: |
10 |
|
Will finish this summer: |
Enloe High, Fuller Elementary, Fuquay-Varina Middle, Middle Creek High (new), North Ridge Elementary, Olds Elementary, Wake Forest Rolesville High, Wiley Elementary |
Plus 16 maintenance projects and 24 state bond projects that will complete in 2001 and 2002, and nine PLAN 2000 systemwide improvement projects in design