Schools and Education Consolidation of Four Buildings Could Result in Expensive Renovation

A new recommendation based on the study would add 5,000 square feet to the current School Support Center located at 215 Manatee Ave. W. Currently the SSC is over 60,000 gross square feet.

MANATEE -- A new school board study proposed the consolidation of four buildings, two of which will be sold as sources of new revenue. In order to relocate the departments to the remaining buildings, a new recommendation based on the study would add 5,000 square feet to the current School Support Center located at 215 Manatee Ave. West. Currently, the SSC is over 60,000 gross square feet. 

Last month, members of the school board voted to sell Owens Annex, which houses the district’s human resource department and Parent Information Center that also serves as administration headquarters for 20 employees. 

Schenkel Shultz Architecture conducted the study, which looked at how to make use of underutilized space at both the SSC and the Professional Support Center located at 2501 63rd Ave. E. Overall, the district has almost 180,000 available gross square footage for restructuring; however, the vacant area falls short of accommodating the spatial needs of 44 employees that will be displaced once the two buildings go up for sale. 

The majority of board members agreed that while space was an issue, they couldn’t commit to a building refurbishment until a department estimate could be determined. 

”It’s hard for me to say we need fifteen cubicles over there, when we aren’t sure how many people are going to be in the department,“ said board member Barbra Harvey. ”We need a projection of what each department is going to look like in the next five years. I believe we can make room for these employees.“

A questionnaire was sent out to over 500 employees in order to determine the physical location of staff and assess which departments worked best within close proximity of each other. Analyzing the questionnaire gave the architects a better understanding of the working relationships and means of communication among district employees. The survey also took security clearance requirements, necessary work area and storage requirements into consideration. 

The survey determined that the human resource department would be most efficient if linked to the both the risk management and payroll departments that are currently on the first floor of the SSC. An addition of over 5,000 square feet would have to be added to the building to accommodate the department. The addition would not only eliminate 114 parking spaces, but also necessitate storm water retention requirements, which would be an added cost.

Currently, there is no available vacant floor area on the second floor; however, board member Robert Gause said space could be opening up in the next fiscal year.

”The legal department is a fairly large chunk of the second floor,“ Gause explained. ”If we decide to outsource that department, we will have a lot more space.“

Board attorney John Bowen’s contract has come under scrutiny in the past few months. The board is considering outsourcing the department, which has drawn attention because Bowen is the highest paid employee in the district. Board members raised the option of letting Bowen go earlier this year and outsourcing his work, but provisions in his contract would have led to around $450,000 in costs, were they to buy him out.

Another option would turn the board conference room into offices and relocate the conference room to the TV station on the PSC campus. The studio occupies approximately 20,000 square feet and underwent a recent renovation of over $3 million. 

Some members of the school board suggested using empty classrooms and auditoriums in the schools as viable options.

”We need to take a closer look at other factors, and then revisit this study when the time is right,“ said Robert Gause.