Bayfield school officials are pushing ahead on plans for a new school for third through fifth grades on land the district owns south of Bayfield Middle School, and for major renovations and additions at the elementary school to serve grades K-2.
Project manager Marty Zwisler gave an update to the school board on Oct. 13. There will be a more detailed update to the board on Oct. 27, and the district is planning a community presentation on Oct. 28 at the elementary primary (BEPS) cafeteria next to the old gym on South Street.
Also on Oct. 13, the board approved hiring the investment banking firm RBC Capital Markets to work with the district on getting a BEST grant from the state to help pay for part of this work, and to help with a district bond issue election in November 2016.
Zwisler showed two possible site layouts for the new school south of the mid school. The 40 acres has a gas well in the northwest corner, and an irrigation ditch divides the property, with 27 acres on the west side and 13 acres on the east side.
All the improvements are proposed on the larger west side, Zwisler said. That would be the school, parking area, and playing fields. The east side could have a mountain bike track.
The bus access would be right across the street from the middle school bus loop. "We have a lot of congestion already with the mid school, and this school could double that," Zwisler advised. "We are looking at this more holistically than just this campus, improvements at the mid school access, road improvements, better pick up and drop off at the mid school."
The site plan can include a Boys and Girls Club, also west of the ditch, to be paid for by that entity, Zwisler said. They could share the school gym, which will be over-size for an elementary school to accommodate mid school sports and other activities.
There also is space for outdoor classrooms. "Forty acres, even 27, gives us a lot to work with," he said. "We are designing for a lot of building uses, mostly mid school students coming over here and the Boys and Girls Club. There should be a crosswalk on Oak."
Zwisler also showed a proposed layout for the new school. It's designed in "pods" that group each grade with seven classrooms each. "We know we've got that coming," he said. "A lot of the feedback from teachers led to the pod concept."
He also showed extensive plans for the current elementary school that was built around 1987. These will bring the school up to current standards and make it more suitable for K-2 students so they can move out of the current primary school building.
