Edmond Schools approves $20 million in projects
The state's thirdlargest school district has just approved an estimated $20 million in building projects and is already making plans for another $22.5 million in construction.
The Edmond School Board on Monday authorized four major projects. The most prominent is a $13.7 million upgrade to the Edmond Memorial High School football stadium.
Being awarded that task is Key Construction of Oklahoma City. That business is already on site at the school, working on gymnasium renovations as well as a new storm shelter, which will double as a band room.
The upcoming stadium expansion will allow Edmond Memorial to host varsity football games for the first time in Bulldog history. The stadium seating will be expanded and there will be an enlarged press box, as well as more concessions areas. Similar projects were completed at Edmond Santa Fe High School two years ago. Edmond North High School's upgraded stadium will open this fall.
Unlike North and Santa Fe, crews at Memorial will be working with less space.
"It's a challenging build," said Justin Coffelt, the district's chief operating officer. He explained Memorial is an older school and doesn't have as much land around it as Santa Fe and North.
Board member Cynthia Benson urged the effort to proceed on time and to be ready by August 2019.
"It's not just football. The band uses the stadium as well," she said.
Superintendent Bret Towne said builders on the other stadiums stayed on schedule.
"If it rained on a Monday, they would be there on Saturday working," Towne said.
In addition to the stadium, Chisholm Elementary School will see a multiple classroom addition worth $2.7 million. The classrooms can also be used as a storm shelter.
The district is continuing an effort to have shelters on every campus for its nearly 25,000 students, that can withstand EF-5 twisters and high winds.
The district will also invest $200,000 to address slab problems on the north side of Chisholm. Towne said more anchor piers would be added to the bedrock to secure the foundation. Pillar Contracting of Oklahoma City was awarded the work. The company has done similar jobs at Edmond elementary schools Ida Freeman and Sunset.
The five-member board also approved $804,740 for roofing work at Memorial High School by Oklahoma Roofing. And, Wynn Construction of Oklahoma City will handle a $1.16 million parking lot expansion at Edmond North High School. That will add 309 parking spaces to the east of the campus. Coffelt said there eventually would be 1,240 student parking spaces.
Benson and board President Meredith Exline urged Coffelt and administrators to communicate with parents on when the project would be ready and if access to the area would be limited or shut down due to the construction.
The board further OK'd final shelter plans at Cimarron Middle School and authorized the bidding process to start. That shelter, also to be used as a media center, will be big enough to hold just less than 1,000, according to district construction supervisor Jason Ferguson. The school has an enrollment of 836.
Other projects on the horizon
The future will see a new gym/shelter at Sequoyah Middle School, Haskell Elementary School's gym/ shelter, a building addition at Frontier Elementary School and renovations at Edmond North and Edmond Santa Fe high schools.
Those projects will be funded in a fourth and final $22.5 million bond sale from a $111 million school bond package passed in February 2017.
Zack Robinson, of BOK Financial Securities of Oklahoma City, will be handling the bond sale next month. Robinson said the district has a AA-plus bond rating.
"That's outstanding," Robinson said. "I'm not sure of anyone in the state with a rating higher than that."
The district will also be using the services of Cenergistic LLC. That company projects saving the district $2.5 million in energy costs over the next five years. The district will not pay Cenergistic a fee if no savings are achieved.
"We need this for the district's 5 million square feet and 30 buildings," Towne said.