Renovations to the De Soto Junior High and De Soto High schools are expected to begin next month, paving the way for the district to move sixth graders from the two elementary schools to the Junior High and some special education classrooms to the High School.
Those renovations will cost $487,081, according to board documents.
The renovations will begin during the first week of June and are scheduled to be substantially completed by Aug. 1, assistant superintendent of operations Joshua Phipps said Monday.
Renovations at the Junior High will include the creation of three new special education resource rooms, a new social studies classroom, a new choir room, a room for Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a sensory room, new restrooms, office space and additional storage, Phipps said.
“These rooms will go in our current ILC (Innovative Learning Center), which will be relocated to where our current PLTW room and weight room are located,” he said. “The weight room is being relocated to a former storage space that district maintenance staff are renovating. The creation of these spaces and movement of other rooms allows us the additional classrooms needed for the sixth grade to join the Junior High.”
“At the High School, we are adding a space for two new self-contained special education classrooms. These rooms will be located in direct proximity to an existing self-contained special education room. There will also be an additional sensory room in this area which will benefit these students and teachers. This will be a brand-new center to provide resources and support to our students.”
The De Soto Board of Education voted unanimously at an April 28 virtual meeting to accept a bid package recommended by the district’s project manager, Daikin-TMi. The package included Daikin-TMi’s estimated fee of $77,769, Phipps said.
Phipps said Daikin-TMi of Chesterfield is overseeing the project for the district, as well as bond issue-related projects for roofing and HVAC that will soon commence next week. The Chesterfield company produced requests for proposals for the renovations, led the bidding process and presented the lowest bidders to the board.
Phipps said Boyer Building & Design Inc. of De Soto was awarded the bid for general trades construction at a cost of $227,490. Other companies involved are Negwer Materials of St. Louis ($26,485), Flooring Systems Inc. of St. Louis ($6,810), Century Fire Sprinklers of Fenton ($5,773), Mahn Plumbing of De Soto ($7,400), Nooter Construction of St. Louis ($122,204), TEC Architects of Ballwin ($5,750) and Architechnics of Quincy, Ill. ($7,400) and $61,400 for additional fees.
Prior to that meeting, school board member Tarrole Milfeld said she was worried about the cost and asked district administrators if the bids were high.
Phipps said he believes the bids were fair.
“The timeline is aggressive,” Phipps said. “And this is a no-change-order bid. There’s no risk of a change order whatsoever. I think this could be worse.”
Relocating sixth graders and students with higher special education needs is Part 1 of the district’s two-part strategic restructuring plan, which Superintendent Ron Farrow said will save the district $1.5 million in annual expenditures by consolidating staff and resources.
He also said district officials are committed to reducing staff solely through resignations and retirements.
Farrow said the district initially expected to deficit spend to cover the cost of the renovations, but it turns out the expenditures will fall within the district’s capital projects budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“We were able to offset some Fund 4 capital projects costs, specifically in the technology area, so (renovations will fall) within our current approved budget,” Farrow said.
Farrow said he knew there would be some one-time-only costs associated with this phase of restructuring, adding that he does not foresee any big costs associated with restructuring the elementary schools by making Athena Elementary a kindergarten through second grade center and Vineland Elementary a center for third through fifth graders.
Phipps said there could be some adjustments for restroom facilities at Athena.