Costs for new Coralville school close to precursor’s

A new Coralville elementary school will cost an estimated $142,000 a year more to operate than the school it is replacing.

That's a good deal, said Ann Feldmann, assistant superintendent of the Iowa City school district. The unnamed school will have a capacity of 500 students, compared with the 295 students currently attending its predecessor, Roosevelt Elementary.

Most of the additional costs will come from staffing a new special education classroom, which Roosevelt doesn't have. It's expected an extra custodian and a part-time clerical worker also will be needed, she said.

The school is to be built on a 10-acre site off Camp Cardinal Boulevard, just inside Coralville city limits.

The construction contract is expected to be awarded in March, with construction starting soon after on the $13.4 million project, Feldmann said. The school is to be finished in summer 2012.

OPN Architects out of Cedar Rapids is designing the school.

A committee considering names for the school will meet for the first time Jan. 11. A recommendation is expected to be before the school board at a Jan. 25 meeting, Feldmann said. About 50 people have submitted suggestions, she said.