REPORT: MIDWEST SCHOOLS COST LESS

School districts in Missouri and neighboring states are building high schools for less on average than the rest of the nation.

Based on information gathered by the Southeast Missourian, seven public school districts that initiated or completed construction of a high school in 1998 and 1999 in Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas will spend between $65 and $111 per square foot on construction. Those costs include funds spent to purchase land, equipment and furnishings for the building, as well as for site work, construction, and architect and engineering fees.

No new high schools were built in Iowa during the two-year period. Information was not available from other neighboring states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas or Nebraska.

The information corresponds with an annual construction report prepared by School Planning and Management magazine. The report found it will cost about $95 per square foot this year to build a school in Missouri, somewhat lower than the nation's average high school construction cost of $106 per square foot.

All but one of the new high schools will have enrollments that equal or are greater than the 1,600-student capacity facility planned for Cape Girardeau School District.

On Wednesday the Cape Girardeau Board of Education received a cost estimate of $25.1 million, or $108 to $112 per square foot, for a scaled-back design from Sverdrup CRSS of St. Louis, the company the board hired to make a cost analysis of the design and construction of a new high school complex.

Sverdrup officials had earlier presented three estimates ranging from $30.7 million to $47.4 million for the total project, or an average of $165 per square foot.

Dr. Terry Grier, superintendent of Williamson County School District in Franklin, Tenn., said a $165-per-square-foot cost "would be a shock to our conscience." Grier said his district, which is growing by about 950 students per year, is one of the most expensive places in Tennessee for any type of construction.

High construction costs have taught school officials to opt for functional but attractive building designs, Grier said. The district opened a high school with an enrollment of 1,850 students in 1995 that cost $23 million to complete. School officials are now looking to build another high school that will cost a projected $25 million to complete.

"You don't need a Taj Majal to educate children," he said. "Our philosophy is that teachers, not buildings, educate students."

Sverdrup representatives said construction costs will vary based upon design and soft costs for items like land, architectural fees and furnishings. Officials told the Cape Girardeau Board of Education simple designs would lower the cost estimate to build the planned high school, but they did not recommend using cheaper materials that would cost the district more money to maintain.

"There are some high growth areas around St. Louis where they're throwing up buildings," said Brad Sims of Sverdrup. "I think they're going to be throwaways in 10 to 15 years."

Superintendent Bernard DuBray of Fort Zumwalt School District and Wentzville schools Superintendent Ronald Berrey said they believe they are building quality facilities at reasonable prices. Both districts are in St. Charles County north of St. Louis, which is experiencing a population boom.

DuBray said his district, which is growing by some 800 students annually, recently completed the first phase of a new high school that will cost about $25 million and will house as many as $2,500 students upon completion.

Currently, 1,200 students occupy the three-story, brick masonry and concrete classroom wing of the high school complex.

"I think it's just a question of the school district being aware of costs, what they're budgets are and what they've got to do to meet those budgets," said DuBray. "We've spent $120 million since 1985, so we know how to build a building and what it should cost."

Wentzville School District will complete construction of a new high school in phases in order to maintain the district's $4.37 property tax levy. The district, like Cape Girardeau schools, is considered hold-harmless by the state and receives a limited amount of state funding.

"It's very difficult to come up wish the bonds you need if you want to do a no-tax- increase proposal," said Wentzville schools Superintendent Ronald Berrey. "It's not a cheap process, yet hopefully that facility will be there for 50 to 100 years."

Berrey said the first phase of construction, which includes 118,000 square feet, is scheduled for completion Aug. 1. In all, the district plans to build a 225,000-square-foot, primarily masonry facility to house about 1,700 students. Berrey said he expects the entire project to cost about $25 million, or $111 per square foot.

Berrey said school districts gain the best value for their money when construction managers are hired to monitor building projects.

"They're our eyes and ears and watchdog to make sure we're getting what our public wants and what we're paying for," he said. "Educators and school administrators are not trained engineers."

Harold Brewer, a project manager with American Constructors Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., said construction costs can quickly become unreasonable if school officials aren't careful. Construction managers work with school districts to meet budgets and develop designs a community will be proud of, he said.

Brewer is in charge of construction of a Rutherford County high school in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The project will fall beneath the $106 per square foot national average for total construction, he said.

"What some local school boards have done here locally is hire an architect to work for them, then bring on a construction manager who can guide them through the process," Brewer said. "I work with the school board to meet budgetary guidelines and with the architect to make the project happen."

Spokesmen for Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau declined to comment for this story. They said a cost analysis would misrepresent actual costs because much of the school's construction costs were covered by in-kind donations from individuals and groups.

Cape Girardeau schools Superintendent Dan Steska said the Board of Education will collect at least two other estimates before moving forward on the project. School board members and the superintendent also plan to visit new high schools in the region to determine the best cost and design for the planned high school.

"We might be able to have a functional school but not have all the major things," said Steska after presenting Sverdrup's initial cost analysis report to board members Dec. 2. "We want to look at buildings in the near vicinity and see what they've done."