First look at new plan for campus First look at new plan for campus (April 20, 2005)

** Woodside School board eyes draft conceptual master plan. Final plan will turn on community sentiment.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Bordering the playing field behind the kindergarten at Woodside School are two rows of 15-year-old temporary buildings, some of which have leaking roofs. If those buildings weren't there, the school could build a full-size soccer field and add a playground and running track.

Such a field is one component of the first draft of a new conceptual master plan developed over the past three months by a committee of board members, administrators, teachers and parents and presented on April 13 to the governing board of the Woodside School District.

At the meeting and for the first time, the whole five-member board saw a drawing of the plan -- a very preliminary plan and one that does not necessarily represent what might eventually be built, said Superintendent Dan Vinson.

The project, in whatever form it takes, would require voters to approve a construction bond. The draft plan, if implemented in its entirety, could run between $9 million and $12 million, but voters may want a less expensive version, said board president Bettina Pike in an interview.

To gauge community receptivity, the district recently paid $11,000 to Godbe Associates of Half Moon Bay to poll some 125 registered voters in the district. Survey results are to be made public at a school board meeting on Wednesday, April 27. The survey results will guide the planning, said Mr. Vinson.

"We are all kind of waiting with bated breath to see what the feedback is," said Ms. Pike. Board members will also be reconnoitering to gather anecdotal evidence of community sentiment, she said.

In his presentation to the board, committee chair Cree Edwards laid out a design that removes the portables and builds about 23,000 square feet in new one-story structures, including 14 classrooms, a new band room, a computer lab, a new administration building and a community room.

To address morning and afternoon traffic congestion, the plan would add drop-off zones near the administration and kindergarten areas and create a school-bus zone at the far end of the campus, near Sellman Auditorium.

Cost containment was a "front burner" priority, said Mr. Vinson. "We did it in a fiscally responsible way," he said. "It's not a Cadillac in any way. It's solid, but not deluxe."

To save money on design fees, for example, the plan would re-use approved drawings and blueprints for the six classrooms completed in 2002.
If ideal became real

"(Woodside) is the least attractive elementary school in the area," said Mr. Edwards in an interview.

The conceptual master plan as presented would include a new band room to go with the chorus room near Sellman Auditorium, with the intent to make the transition from practice room to auditorium somewhat seamless, he said.

The plan would also address the lack of a playground for kids in grades 3 through 8. Courtyards would be upgraded to provide students with places to eat and study, something lacking in the current layout, said Mr. Edwards.

To make the campus more secure, new first-grade classrooms would be positioned to block the view of the schoolyard from passing drivers on Woodside Road. Classroom doors would open to the interior of the campus.

The footprint of the current administrative building would serve as the footprint for new offices, teachers' lounge and community room, while the library would get a new wing for computers and books.
Selling it

With survey results in hand, the board could propose a bond measure and authorize a request for proposals. The district's capacity for bond indebtedness is estimated at $15 million, Ms. Pike has said.

Voters approved a $5 million bond measure in 1999. That money, combined with private donations of about $7.5 million, paid for a new gym and six classrooms and converted Sellman Auditorium to a performing arts venue.

But voters rejected a $10.2 million bond in 1998. "I think the main reason it failed is that in presenting it, (district officials) neglected to consider all the people in town," said Trustee Barbara Tagg, adding that this plan does consider the community.

Ms. Tagg noted the plan's provisions to build one-story structures, reduce traffic congestion, and provide a new multi-purpose room and soccer field that the community could use.
INFORMATION

Survey results on community sentiment for a new school construction bond will be made public at a school board meeting on Wednesday, April 27, at the Woodside School library at 3195 Woodside Road.

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