Rebuilt Winton could be bigger
COEUR d'ALENE - Winton Elementary students will have a new school building next year, and it could have room for 160 more students.
Trustees awarded a $6.6 million contract Friday to low-bidder T.W. Clark Construction of Spokane. The board also gave approval for an additional $608,000 to add six new classrooms, but that is contingent upon the availability of additional funds within six months.
"This is a golden opportunity," said Bryan Martin, school district maintenance director, during the board's discussion of the bid proposal.
Martin said the cost to the district, under the T.W. Clark contract, is $133 per square foot, which covers the entire project, including the parking lot and playground.
The additional classrooms would allow Winton to add another section of each grade. The 315-student school would expand to roughly 475 students.
The expansion depends upon the school district's ability to sell its "Northshire" property, 10 acres the district owns at the intersection of Atlas and Nez Perce roads.
The land was placed on the market by trustees in 2012 so they could raise capital to purchase the building at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Ironwood Drive, where the district office is now located.
Because the Northshire was not sold at that time, the district used enterprise funds from its School Plus program to purchase the district office building. The School Plus program generates revenue from parents who pay for after- and before-school care.
There are two buyers interested in purchasing the Northshire land: Copper Basin Construction, home builders with developments throughout the region, and Grace Bible Church.
The land sale is expected to generate at least $500,000. Additional funds to meet the $608,000 cost to add the classrooms will come from savings in other areas, including unused contingency funds and savings from the district's other recent renovation projects.
The Northshire property includes a 1.8-acre dog park the Kootenai County Dog Park Association has maintained there with the district's permission since 2010. The fate of the dog park will be up to the property buyer.
Winton Elementary students are being moved to Hayden Elementary for the next school year, while the new downtown school is built.
Other base bids received came from Coeur d'Alene contractors, Contractors Northwest, $6.8 million; and Ginno Construction, $6.76 million. Interwest Construction of Salt Lake City submitted a $7 million bid, and Kreizenbeck Construction of Boise bid $7.38 million.