Now that the school bond issue has passed, it’s time for the district to be begin the process of the new facilities project. The North Royalton Board of Education met on May 17 to begin the planning of the design, construction and renovation of the new elementary school, middle school and high school. They discussed various construction methods, the overall time line, processes and legal obligations that will be involved with their work with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. School Legal Counsel David Riley advised the board on these measures.
“The next step in the process is for the Board of Education to post the request for qualifications from architect firms,” said Superintendent Greg Gurka, North Royalton City Schools. “Those proposals will be reviewed carefully by the Board of Education and several finalists will be selected to be interviewed. We hope to be done with this process by late summer 2017.”
According to district officials, “Once the architect is chosen, the district will utilize the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method which includes a commitment by a Construction Manager to deliver the project within a Guaranteed Maximum Price, based on construction documents and specifications. The CMAR provides professional services and consults in the design development and construction phases.”
“In the meantime, we will meet with the Community Facilities Advisory Committee to review time lines and begin the first steps in maintaining our commitment to the community,” said Gurka. Community members and teachers known as stakeholders, will discuss what the new school and addition to the high school will look like. Middle school level focus groups will discuss the enhancements needed, as well as what instructional changes need to take place. “We are building a strong foundation, both in education and facilities and there will be opportunities for us to have dialogue with our residents throughout every step of the process,” said Gurka.
On May 2, voters approved Issue 11, the 30-year, 4.9 mill bond issue in the amount of $88,900,000. With the passage of the issue, the North Royalton School District will build one new elementary school to replace the three existing buildings, renovate as portion, demolish and build new at a portion of the high school and renovate the middle school. The elementary school will be built on 23 acres on the southwest corner of State Road and Valley Parkway, which the district owns. The high school will see a 100,000 square foot addition that will be built onto the back. It will also include renovations of the 1970’s and 1980’s areas to include new science labs, new HVAC, lighting, roofs, doors, entrances and windows. It also includes an expanded area for the music department. Renovations to the middle school include roof replacement, HVAC replacement, a redesigned media center and learning spaces, updated technology infrastructure. The entire plan can be viewed on the district’s website www.northroyaltonsd.org.
“The design process with the architect will take approximately one year. New construction of the buildings is estimated to be complete by the 2020-2021 school year,” according to district officials.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer