The selected schematics for the new Pinon and Chamisa elementary schools. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
White Rock is on track to not only get new elementary schools but also new, expanded gym spaces for students and the public.
During a special joint meeting Monday night, Los Alamos County Council and the Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) board unanimously approved the County’s financial support for including expanded gym space into design plans for the new Chamisa Elementary and Pinon Elementary buildings.
Council voted 7-0 to support partnering with the Los Alamos Public Schools for the design and construction of recreation spaces and other space available to the community in the White Rock elementary schools by contributing no more than $7.5 million. This is sufficient for just one of the sites but there may be enough remaining funds to add space to the second site, Chair Randall Ryti told the Los Alamos Daily Post Wednesday. The necessary agreements will be developed between the school district and the County and the County Manager will return to council with a budget adjustment.
For its part, the school board approved 4-0, Board Member Erin Green was absent, to approve the County’s partnership in the project.
Although it was initially recommended that the Council specify the elementary school and the square footage, councilors ultimately decided not to so the public schools could have flexibility in its plans.
Councilor David Izraelevitz pointed out the County may need to adjust its support on the design; plus, as more information on the different uses for the spaces becomes known, a future council can make decisions on changing its financial contributions.
“…There are still unknowns about types of uses,” he said. “I … like having the flexibility of additional things that need to be done as they may arise…”
Council Vice Chair Denise Derkacs added that specifying square footage is not necessary. However, she said she preferred identifying a dollar amount and the projects rather than giving “a blank check.”
School board members encouraged the County to support the collaboration.
Board Secretary Antonio Jaurigue emphasized “how important the space is here. The schools are going to grow so we want to look to the future of the schools … we outgrew these schools and I don’t want to grow out of these (new) schools half way through their life span.”
He pointed out the school district has good funding resources as shown by its student/teacher ratio and ability to provide laptops during COVID. What’s lacking, Jaurigue said, is space. Students are crammed in classrooms and the community is confronted with scheduling conflicts whenever an organization or group wants to reserve space within a school.
Board President Melanie Colgan echoed this statement. As a parent and a coach, Colgan said she knows firsthand the difficulty of securing a school facility.
“As a parent and a coach, it is a competitive market to get that space … we need that space,” Colgan said.
Board member Ellen Specter thanked the Council for “your generosity and your vision and seeing how this collaboration can benefit the whole community.”
Superintendent Dr. Jose Delfin pointed out this is an investment for the community’s future.
“The legacy we build today kind of helps imagine what the future will be for our next phase of citizens,” he said.
County Manager Steven Lynne pointed out the County and the school district have partnered together on this project in the past.
He said representatives from the County and LAPS traveled to the state legislature to secure funding for new school buildings.
Still, Lynne said this is the school’s project and he doesn’t feel the County will have a significant role in the project management.
Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Guy added that once the buildings are built, they will be under the school’s management for maintenance, operations, utilities, etc.
The project is in the design development phase and the most up to date plans were shared during the meeting. The three completed phases are the discovery, programming and schematic design, Juan Dorado with Dekker Perich Sabatini said.
In the design development phase, “the plan begins to come together,” he said.
Consultants are getting involved such as mechanical, civil, electrical, plumbing and system integration. He added construction on the new Pinon Elementary is scheduled to begin in May 2023 and Chamisa’s new building is slated to begin construction in May 2024. The existing buildings will not be demolished during the construction phase. Dorado said the Chamisa building is expected to be completed by August 2025.
As far as the concept for Chamisa, Dorado said four different site schemes were created. The one that was selected was a scheme known as circular pods. This scheme, he said, captures the primary (Pre-K through second grade) and upper teams (third through sixth grade) teaching spaces and classroom wings. There is a focus on a shared core that could remain open for after hour community use while being able to close pods and have the education spaces separate from community spaces, Dorado said.
As far as the shared areas, he said those include the art room, media/library and music room. The gym has a full court for basketball, bleachers, a platform stage area, storage spaces, space for concessions. A multi-use room also is being proposed.
Like Chamisa, four site schemes were developed for Pinon and one, identified as curves, was selected. It would be a multilevel building. Pre-K and kindergarten would be in the northwest portion of the school. The areas in the middle would be available for the community after hours. First through third grade areas are together and fourth through sixth grade would be grouped together.
The gymnasium also is a full-size athletic court, which features retractable bleachers. A multi-purpose room, music room, art room and library space would be available for community after hours.
With the two proposed schematics, Dorado showed what the County’s contribution would be in square footage. For Pinon, the County would contribute to 10,199 square feet. The project for the gym is expected to cost $5.3 million or $525 per square foot. For Chamisa, the County would contribute 12,900 square feet and the projected cost for the gymnasium would be $6.7 million or $525 per square foot.