By Bill Robinson
Register News Writer
September 27, 2008 09:54 pm
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The Madison County School Board accepted a $16.9 million bid from Denark Construction of Knoxville, Tenn., for a renovation and expansion of Madison Southern High School that will enlarge it by nearly 40 percent.
Denark’s bid was the lowest of three bids. It was $98,000 lower than the bid of D.W. Wilburn of Lexington and $308,000 lower than the bid from Isaac Tatum of Lebanon.
According to a summary released by the superintendent’s office, the project will add 10 standard classrooms to the high school, four science and two special-education classrooms, a computer lab, art room and band room.
The cafeteria and gymnasium also will both be expanded, as will athletic locker rooms.
The building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning will be updated and converted to a more energy-efficient geothermal system.
Lighting will be updated, data cabling will be installed and a new, high-ceiling front entry will be erected.
About 49,000 square feet will be added to the existing 124,000 square feet.
Also, the school’s parking areas will grow by 75 spaces.
Construction will begin this fall and classrooms could be ready by the beginning of school next year, said Glenn Marshall, assistant superintendent for finance. The project could be completed before school starts in 2010.
Architect Tony Thomas of Clotfelter-Samokar said his firm had not previously worked with Denark, but its was highly recommended by other school systems. Since 1985, Denark had completed school projects ranging from $8 million to $24 million.
In recent years, Clotfelter-Samokar had sought to increase competitive bidding by inviting Denark to bid on school projects it had designed in south-central and southeastern Kentucky, he said.
The board also voted to finance the project by selling 20-year bonds.
Joe Nance of Ross Sinclair and Associates of Frankfort said even with the current financial-market turmoil, Kentucky school construction bonds recently had sold for 4.7 percent interest, up only 0.3 percent from a few months earlier.
The school board should budget about $6.2 million for its total bond service for the foreseeable future, Nance said.
If market uncertainties are settled when the bonds are sold Oct. 16, the interest rate could decline slightly, he said.
Because investors’ income from public school bonds is tax free, they can be sold for a lower rate of return.
“Think of it this way,” he said. “If you could get a 20-year mortgage on your house for 4.7 percent, you’d think it was a great deal.”
The board also adopted its working budget, the first of two regular updates to the financial plan adopted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year July 1.
Superintendent Tommy Floyd said the update includes $50,000 to purchase diesel fuel for school buses above what was originally budgeted.
Because “the price of everything is going up,” Floyd said he expects total school expenses to grow by $1.4 million next year. To cover that, he plans to recommend enacting a 2009 property tax rate that would yield the maximum four percent in revenue allowed by House Bill 44.
If adopted, property owners could expect to pay an additional $5 for each $100,000 of evaluation, he said.
In other action, the board approved out-of-town field trips for:
• Madison Central FFA members to attend the nation convention in Indianapolis
• Sophomores in Madison Central and Madison Southern Gear Up program to visit Columbus, Ohio
• Madison Middle seventh graders to visit the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
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