Preliminary plans shared

A drawing for the new PC PK-4 school building shown at last week's Board of Education meeting.

Preliminary plans were shared for the future PK-4 building in Fairbury during last week’s regular meeting of the Prairie Central Board of Education.

Schematic design was discussed and drawings were shared with board members. This is a working plan at this point.

“We are still really early in the game,” said Damien Schlitt of BLDD Architects.

They are just understanding how the building and spaces will work together. Stages moving forward include design development followed by construction documents.

An overall site plan was presented to board members. The site across from the new Boys and Girls Club will be developed for the project.

“We wanted ample space for both buses and car traffic,” added Schlitt.

Getting cars off of Seventh Street onto the property would involve turn lanes. Car traffic would loop out back to the street on a three-lane road at the school and a service drive is planned for deliveries.

The new building will be broken into zones for the grades with an outdoor learning area as well. It would not be land locked which means expansion is possible in the future.

Plans for the first floor include the lower grades along with special courses, such as art and music, and administration areas. A dining commons would act as an event space and the school will have two gymnasium spaces. The elementary gym has 800 to 1,000 seats with a practice gym slightly smaller at 200 to 300 seats.

“That space could be divided for two P.E. classes to happen simultaneously,” explained Schlitt.

A stage is located next to the practice gym and the two areas would also serve as a storm shelter.

For classrooms, each grade level would keep the space as open as possible. There is a pairing of classrooms and a small group area.

The Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten wing is a bit different with less small group space. This pod could almost function as its own building without interrupting anything else.

The second floor would mainly include third and fourth grades. Plans also call for a media center with a STEM space.

While school colors would be used in the building, other colors will be implemented.

“My initial reaction to the first plan here is very receptive,” stated board member Ben Stoller following the presentation.

Also at the August meeting, the Prairie Central Board of Education heard annual reports for transportation, food services and maintenance.

Transportation Director Chris Wilder said the total miles driven for buses and the fuel usage was pretty much the same as the year before.

“We did utilize our activity buses a little more,” he noted.

Repairs go up every year because of labor rates and the price for parts. The district will now have 28 regular buses as they downsized by two due to short staffing.

“We need monitors and drivers for all of our routes.”

Food Service Director Susan Cavazos updated the board on grants received from the St. Louis District Dairy Council this year. They want the district to make smoothies for the kids. The school also received money from the Local Foods for Schools program.

Cavazos reported they have not had any major equipment failures this past year. While they are short staffed at the high school, in the next few weeks they will have all of the schools filled.

The schools served less last year than the year prior and reimbursement rates are going up slightly. This year, they are in the negative about $70,000 as staff salaries have gone up.

Slowly, they are going to move toward scratch foods which are better for kids, according to Cavazos.

“Hopefully that will save our budget a little bit too.”

Director of Maintenance Tyler Webster recapped completed projects as he felt it was a successful year for his department. They were able to utilize energy grants for boilers at the Upper Elementary and Chenoa.

“We were able to get some rebates from NICOR due to those tune-ups,” explained Webster.

In the future, Webster would like to start specializing the staff and focusing one person on preventative maintenance. He would also like to see a focus on the outside of the buildings more with lawns, athletic fields and landscaping.

Superintendent Quam noted they plan to do a building spotlight each month at the regular board meeting starting in September.

Jenifer McGowan, K-6 director of curriculum and instruction, reviewed the recent institute. Staff members were able to set goals and the First Baptist Church provided lunch. Different sessions were then offered at the high school in the afternoon.

“There was something for everyone,” said McGowan.

A concept drawing of a new PK-4 school at Prairie Central, shown to the PC Board last week.