School $5 Million Under Budget Surplus From New Mead High School May Be Used To Fix Up Old Building

Thu., Aug. 22, 1996

Jonathan Martin Staff Writer

Lucky timing and good budget management have put Mount Spokane High School construction more than $5 million under budget.

Mead school board members and administrators aren’t sure where to spend the surplus, but say modernizing the existing Mead High School is a top priority.

“It’s been understood that anything we can save on the new building will be used on the old one,” said district spokesman John Keith.

The school, now about two-thirds complete, was budgeted and sold to voters with at $37.5 million price tag. Voters approved a $28.5 million bond issue in 1993 and the state kicked in $9.5 million.

But administrators say construction has gone amazingly smooth, giving the district a cushion of between $5 million and $6 million. The school construction market was weak when Mead advertised for bids, causing intense competition between builders.

“We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” said John Dormier, facilities and planning director of the school district.

The school district also hired a consultant to carefully analyze bids, looking for vague descriptions or bloated estimates.

“The clearer the documents, the clearer the bidding process,” said Dormier.

A committee of taxpayers will recommend to the school board how to use the cushion when it creates a long-term facilities plan. The committee will convene in September.

Committee president Kathleen Perks said remodeling 24-year-old Mead High School is a top priority. Board president Mary Jane Thompson agrees.

“We’ve said from the beginning that Mead High School needs some work,” said Thompson.

The school has serious problems with heating and ventilation. Its floor plan was also based on an outdated educational theory which called for large open spaces that teachers now say are a hassle.

Keith said remodeling would cost about $10 million and suggested earlier that another bond issue may be necessary.

Other possibilities:

A new elementary school in the northern end of the district. Midway, Meadow Ridge and Farwell are at or near capacity, and several large developments are pending.

An additional 10 to 11 acres of athletic fields at Mead High School. Ninth-graders will move from middle schools to high schools in 1997, adding several sports teams. Administrators are scouting sites adjacent to and near Mead High School, but no deals have been made.

Refunding the extra construction money to taxpayers is apparently not a likely option. Wording in the 1993 bond issue said the school district could use extra construction money for other building projects, and the school board said it intended to use a surplus.

Mead residents pay the highest school property taxes in the county - in 1996 about $700 on a $100,000 home.

“I figure the schools need the money,” said Perks, chair of the citizen’s planning committee. “If I want a refund, something will be hurting. I just think it’s exciting that it’s under budget.”

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