School district presents facility flood-recovery options

Five Cedar Rapids school district buildings were damaged in last year's flood. Five construction options address those facilities.

The district presented these options to the public Thursday during its second public forum to gather input on the flood recovery process.

Options presented to the public include returning existing facilities to preflood state with or without improvements; building some new support facilities and repairing some existing facilities; or constructing all new facilities. Each option comes with a different price tag, as low as $14.7 million up to $38.5 million.

Payment for the projects will be split between the district and FEMA.

The buildings affected include the Educational Service Center and warehouse facilities. Many support offices are currently located at a modular building campus at Kingston Stadium.

According to comments from the first public forum, held June 30 at Jefferson High School, most were in favor of the fifth option - a new site housing new facilities and new program. This option costs $35.2 million, with FEMA covering $12.4 million of the bill.

The fourth and third options, a new site with renovated facilities and new program or same sites with new facilities and program, tied for second.

The fourth option costs $26.9 million. FEMA's share of the bill would be $12.4 million.

The third option is the most expensive, with a $38.5 million price tag. FEMA's share would still be $12.4 million.

The first and second options, retuning to the former sites with little or no renovations, ranked below average.

Those in attendance were asked to submit comments on the options. Shellie Pike braved yesterday's torrential rainfall to examine the choices.

“I'll take the information home and submit my opinion online,” she said.

Former school board member Mary Ann Kucera called the presentation thorough.

“I couldn't think of another option,” she said. “The information was very clear and presented well. It clearly shows people how many different department a school district of this size has to have. I think it's important for the public to understand how many departments it takes to operate the district.”

Those unable to attend Thursday's forum can still weigh in on the issue on the district's Website: www.cr.k12.ia.us Click on the “Back and Better Get-Togethers” logo.

The third and final forum will provide information on selected options. It will be held Oct. 20 at Washington High School.