Panel considers upgrades to Joel Barlow

REDDING — The Region 9 facilities committee is working on the scope of the improvements at Joel Barlow High School after the school board approved the overall items to be fixed.

Repairing the tennis courts, the track, Barlow Drive and the walkways around the school are all included in the project.

Many of these have varying levels of work and prices and school officials will have to decide which option is the way to go for each project.

“A school campus will always need maintenance and improvements,” Superintendent of Schools Thomas McMorran said. “The Region 9Board of Education developed a long-range capital improvement plan many years ago and the members have used it to guide the sequence and costs of keeping our buildings clean, healthy and safe while also being very mindful of the ongoing cost to the taxpayers.”

The board approved the engineering services proposal from Gale Associates at its last meeting. Board members and school officials are now working with the firm on the details of the work, which will determine better cost estimates.

It is expected to go out to bid for the work in February. The work is expected to be included on the May referendum so the board can bond for it. Because it is a regional school board, the Region 9 Board of Education also acts as a finance board.

As of now, a very preliminary estimate for the work is about $2.5 million.

“Due to their long-range approach to management of the high school buildings and grounds, the board has kept up the value of the property while also spending funds in a prudent manner,” McMorran said.

Board members selected these items from a list of seven suggested by the firm, considering when the work needed to be done with how often the items were used. The parking lots and front drop-off area were not included, although sidewalks included as parts of the projects were.

Members said they were hesitant to spend money on designs for things they didn’t think would be built as part of the borrowing plan.

The firm and administration differed on the priority rankings, with the board tending to side with the administration’s perspective, which was based on use.

Based on engineering, the firm listed Barlow Drive as the biggest priority, followed by a tie between the tennis courts and track surface, then the junior parking lot, the rear parking area and the front drop off area. One of the walkways was not included.

High school officials instead had the tennis courts as the biggest priority, followed by Barlow Drive, the track, the walkway, the front drop-off area, the rear parking lot and finally the junior lot.

Head of School Gina Pin said at the Nov. 20 school board meeting that she doesn’t expect the junior lot will be needed in a few years.

Both lists agreed on the top three items though, if not the order.

“It is time to repave the access road, fix our tennis court surfaces to keep them safe, and replace the track in the athletic stadium,” McMorran said. “The current track was laid down in 1983 and resurfaced about eight years ago.”