CHESAPEAKE – Plans for the proposed Chesapeake Elementary are $2 million over budget, leaving school officials looking for a way to bring the building’s construction together.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002

CHESAPEAKE – Plans for the proposed Chesapeake Elementary are $2 million over budget, leaving school officials looking for a way to bring the building’s construction together.

According to school board president Carl Lilly, the first bid on the original plan came in $2.3 million over budget – due largely to the building’s proposed design. Lilly said stylized curves in the masonry, although aesthetically pleasing, has increased the construction costs.

Architects from Tanner-Stone & Company, the building’s designers, unveiled a conceptual model of the school at a January school board meeting. The architects called the plans for the building "unique," citing the firm has never built a school exactly like the one proposed.

The two-story building will be based on a semi-circle design, with square pods branching off of the semi-circle. The design of the building will allow educators the ability to segregate classes, keeping the same grades together, putting distance between the older and younger students.

The building will also house a courtyard in the center between the academic pods and the general use pods that will house the gymnasium, cafeteria, kitchen and music room.

The administration wing of the building is designed so the school principal can observe both the bus parking lot and regular traffic parking lot, which will be kept separate. The building is also designed so that people entering the school must pass by the principal’s office, allowing administrators control over who enters the building.

Lilly said the architects are going to design a new proposal and prepare cost estimates.

Lilly said the new proposal will allow the school district to determine if a change in design is beneficial or not. If not, Lilly said, there are a few financing options available.

Lilly said the school district should know more in six weeks, pushing the construction table two months behind.