Stranahan High to get $30 million renovation

The Broward School Board has delayed a decision on whether to repair or rebuild part of the decaying Northeast High in Oakland Park. But it agreed to move ahead with renovations at Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale.

The cost of renovating both schools was far higher than estimated. The cost of repairing Stranahan increased from $16.8 million to $30.5 million, but included a $7 million cafeteria replacement, which board members had requested.

At Northeast High, the board asked whether it made more financial sense to rebuild part of the campus rather than repair it at a cost of $31.4 million. Members told district staff to bring back an analysis June 26. Northeast’s renovation budget was originally $14.5 million.

District officials say it would likely cost more than $100 million for a complete rebuild of Northeast. But board members are considering tearing down only one building while renovating others.

Facilities Chief Leo Bobadilla said he can provide an analysis of different scenarios in the next couple of months. School Board members say they may be willing to decrease the number of students Northeast can accommodate. The school serves about 1,770 students, about 514 below its capacity.

Northeast and Stranahan were the poster children for an $800 million bond referendum, which voters approved in 2014 to remodel crumbling schools. Construction was expected to start in the summer of 2015, but was delayed several times, which officials say is one reason costs have gone up.

“I’m not overly concerned about the delay. I’m more concerned about doing what’s right,” School Board member Rosalind Osgood said.

Fort Lauderdale activist Mary Fertig encouraged the School Board to at least get one new building at Northeast. She said it would cost well below the $31 million to replace the building in the worst shape and use the rest of the budget to do renovations.

“The impact would be a better future for Northeast,” she said.

She noted the school board agreed in January to spend $19.2 million for a similarly sized classroom building at Cypress Bay High in Weston.