Members of the Caesar Rodney School District Board of Education approved final plans for renovating Camden’s W.B. Simpson Elementary School during a special noon meeting March 3.
The panel made some last minute changes to the plans, presented by Buck Simpers Architect + Associates before the four members present took a unanimous vote on the project. Board Vice President Kathleen Haynes was not able to attend.
The basic price tag for the renovations is $20.6 million; the changes to the plans made by the board are not expected to alter the final cost. Bidding on the project is expected to begin shortly, with actual construction on the school to begin this fall.
The 1950s-style in which the original building was constructed will give way to a semi-colonial look.
“We wanted it to be similar to the [Paul L.] Dunbar building next door,” said district Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, speaking of the district’s administrative headquarters. “It also compliments the general architecture of Camden and Wyoming.”
Discussion before the vote centered on providing enough parking for the school’s 65 staff, faculty members, and visitors. Parking out front will be sufficient, board members decided, as custodial and cafeteria staff members will be asked to park in a side area that also will serve the Dunbar building staff.
The panel wanted to ensure the front parking area did not displace two long-standing oak trees they wanted to preserve.
The interior of the building will be almost completely gutted, allowing for the installation of new electrical wiring and computer hookups. The administration area, to include the principal’s office, will be moved to the current main entrance, which, along with all other building access points, will have cameras and other security measures installed. The library will be relocated to what is now the office area, and a new art room, with a kiln to be used for making pottery, will be installed there.
Geothermal climate controls will be installed throughout the building as well.
The school board also discussed some alternative plans to allow an expanded gymnasium and additional improvements if sufficient funding is available.
Board members were told the work will cost $210 per square foot, compared to $187 per square foot being spent on the current renovations to the W. Reily Brown school and approximately $200 per square foot spent on completed renovations to the McIlvaine Early Childhood Center.
The difference is that experience gained in those projects allowed a more realistic estimate of how much the Simpson project would cost.
