1. Evaluating Needs: Facilities Assessment

Complete!

School Sites

There are some minor site circulation problems with buses not being separated from student drop-off and faculty parking areas. All of the older schools (all but the newer high school) have a number of issues with ADA accessibility compliance. These issues start with site access from streets, parking areas and drop of areas to doorways that serve as ingress and egress and include ramp, railing and stair issues.

Traffic/pickup problems

Toilet Rooms

On the interior of the buildings there are almost no fully accessible toilet facilities, with issues on clearances at doorways, hardware at lavatories, padding of piping at lavatories, clearances in restrooms and accessible stalls with door in incorrect locations.

In the older buildings, modifications to the restrooms may require extensive work to provide proper width and clearances at doors and circulation in addition to hardware and protections at sinks and grab bars and clearances at toilets. Toilet rooms in general are expensive to remodel due to the high costs of the finishes and plumbing.

Non-ADA bathrooms

Ancient pipes

Support Facilities

Most schools do not have conference or meeting rooms that can be used for staff training and meeting as well as spaces for consultation with students and parents. The Elementary School and intermediate school both have small multi-purpose rooms that are inadequate for full school functions. Both Helen M Knight Intermediate School and Red Rock Elementary School have older kitchens that do not meet current health codes for food preparation and serving with floors and counter tops not being the correct materials. For example, the photo to the right is HMK's teacher lounge and prepartion area that serves over forty staff members.

Small work space

Structural Chacteristics

Three of the schools (Red Rock Elementary, Helen M Knight Intermediate School and Grand County Middle School) are constructed with un-reinforced masonry units (URM) which have poor seismic stability and present a substantial risk of collapse in the event of moderate to
severe seismic activity. This condition is discussed at length in the structural assessment. At Red Rock Elementary School this has resulted in several large cracks and some masonry damage to the exterior walls. At Red Rock and at Helen M Knight there are large URM
chimney stacks that propose a severe risk of collapse that have been noted for demolition in the Capitol Outlay Budget, the team highly encourages the District to proceed with the removal of these chimneys. Note that neither of the chimneys are currently in use and the
chimneys would serve no purpose in the future. The existing vocational education building needs minor upgrades to improve stability and the High School should be in very good conditions, however, there were several minor problems with things like seismic wires on the
ceiling grid.

Cracks in un-reinforced masonry at Red Rock Elementary

Unsupported walls at HMK

Environmental Systems

Grand County School District has upgraded several of the schools with new HVAC systems to provide cooling and heating, it appears that these were completed with limited budgets and have resulted in some systems being very noisy, particularly in the Grand County Middle School, and to some degree in the Red Rock Elementary School and Helen M Knight Intermediate School. There
would be major costs associated with either replacing these systems or modifying them to be quiet enough not to interfere with the teaching/learning process. There are several schools that need to have plumbing upgrades. These relate to old galvanized pipe systems that have
corroded to the point that the water flow is severely reduced and there is rust and debris in the pipes.

Electrical Systems

There are many electrical needs throughout the district relating to fire alarms, communication systems security and power supply. All schools, except the High School, need a service upgrade to provide additional power and circuits. Most schools are operating beyond design capacity. Many of the school shave been retrofitted with newer high performance lighting fixtures which has helped reduce power consumption. Most schools must use extension cords and power strips to meet instructional demands. This results in overloaded circuits and service problems. Fire alarm and communications systems need to be upgraded or replaced in all building. These problems leave areas of the schools and portable classrooms without adequate communication.

2. Setting Priorities

Complete!

Priority 1

Elementary School & Targeted District wide Renovations/Repairs

The School Board is weighing the pros and cons (primarily cost savings) combining Red Rock and HMK by building one, large elementary school; OR building two elemenary schools -- one to replace Red Rock and one to replace HMK. The School Board is considering moving the Sundwall Pre K program to the elementary facility.

Middle School and other targeted district renovations are also needed now. This means we must add a projected 1.5 million dollars to the Elementary School bond.

Click here to read about the Middle School's needs.

Priority 2

Vocational Building

The Vocational Center not only has many of the same facility problems as HMK and Red Rock, the off campus location of the facility is problematic for many reasons. Community and student surveys indicate the need for the District to expand vocational offerings to High School students and community members. The District can receive state funding to do this, but the Vocational Center has no space for additional programs.

Priority 3

Grand County Middle School

We need a new Middle School now, but we will have to wait. In the meantime, the elementary bond with added renovation funds will extend the life of the current Middle School until a second bond can be passed to fully renovate or rebuild the Middle School.

Priority 4

High School Regional Field House

The Board recognizes the community need for such a facility. This item is on the list for discussion with parents, community leaders, and all community members. The construction of a regional field house was something that was cut from the bond to build the High School in 1996. The need for this facility still exists.

Priority 5

District Office

Though a new District Office is much needed, the Board holds with the tradition of ranking student facilities a higher priority than tht needs of the central office. It is recognized state wide that Grand County hosts a notoriously inadequate District Office.

Click here for more information.

Priority 6

Elementary School in Spanish Valley

The long-term option of building a school in the valley might be necessary if population growth warrants such measures.

3. Developing A Strategy

Complete!

The first phase of the project will include building a new K-6 elementary school & Vocational Center, and making necessary renovations to the existing Middle School. The HMK site will host the new elementary School. The Vocational Center will be consructed adjacent to the High School.

4. Bonding

Complete!

5. Designing the Facilities

In Progress.

Concept Planning of

Grand County's Future

Elementary School

Conceptual Classroom

The entire school is built around the functionality of its classrooms, the primary structures that house students for the majority of instructional time. Great care is being invested in designing a space that is suitably large, bright, quiet, and has all the amenities to serve Grand County School District's technological and material needs now and in the future.

These are conceptual renderings ONLY!

Conceptual Grade Level Communities

Current plans suggest that approximately five classrooms might be grouped together into a grade level community. In this scenario, each grade level would share a communal space (called the Community Learning Center) for breakout activities, collaborative work, and a place to post grade and class work for a unique, age-appropriate identity. The Community Learning Centers might also include a large natural light source which would serve to reduce power consumption by partially lighting the hallways with diffuse natural sunlight.

Conceptual School Organization

In the conceptual draft at right, the new elementary school is arranged in three distinct wings. The first and longest wing would house Kindergarten through Second Grade. The multi-level wings would house Third & Fourth Grade, and Fifth & Sixth Grade, respectively. This redering also illustrates the inclusion of special-use rooms for Speech and Language, Special Education, Title I, ALS, computer labs, Art, and Music.

Conceptual Structural Characteristics

This rendering illustrates the conceptual school complete with administrative areas, multipurpose room, kitchen, media centers, and a "Main Street" Corridor (in red) linking the entire structure. Under this arrangement, administrative offices and enterances would be distinct for each school (Elementary: K-3 & Intermediate: 4-6), allowing students, staff, and parents to maintain the optimal organization of an elementary and intermediate school within one structure.

Conceptual Exterior View

The school's exterior is being carefully designed to fit into the Moab community and landscape.

Conceptual Floor Plan

As the drawings above are strictly conceptual at the present, this floor plan is also fluid, but it demonstrates how the school could be organized. The 3-6 wings might be multi-level. As such, the older, more able students would be served in the two-story wings, and the younger children would be served separately in the single-story wing. All grade levels would have access to appropriate special learning spaces, bathrooms, and exits.

Conceptual Grounds

This conceptual rendering shows one example of how the current HMK school grounds could be utilized. In this draft, the school would be oriented on the Northern half of the property, allowing school sessions to continue in the current buildings while construction proceeded. This would eliminate the need for portable classrooms, significantly reducing the cost, thereby maximizing bond dollars. With this arrangement, K-2 (elementary) and 3-6 (intermediate) schools would have separate play areas, including both grass and concrete surfaces. Drop-off, parking, and bus avenues would be partially independent, making the site safer and offering optimal flow.

Concept Planning of

Grand County's Future

Vocational School

Conceptual Site Layout

As seen at right, the new Vocational School will be positioned in the dirt parking area to the east of the High School, without significantly impacting the Youth Garden Project grounds and facilities. This layout illustrates only one of the possible arrangements being examined by the Grand County School Board.

These are conceptual

renderings ONLY!

Conceptual Floor Plan #1

This structure is being designed to house only those vocational programs that are now provided by the Grand County School District. Future partnerships with other organizations (such as College of Eastern Utah) could justify and fund additional facilities, as represented by grey in the draft floor plan to the right.

6. Long Term Planning

In Progress.

August 14, 2008 Article

7. Construction

Pending.