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Wednesdsay February 23, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 S c h o o l b o a r d d e s ig n in g s c h o o ls p r e m a t u r e ly B y D e n n is S m ith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The plans are far from settled, but the Halton District School Board has opted to start designing new schools. Trustees are still reviewing a consul tant's capital strategic plan which pro poses spending $409 million over 20 years to build and renovate schools. But they were urged to act on school design Wednesday, in case the strategic plan is approved. The plan proposes com pleting two new elementary schools by next year, although sites haven't been finalized. "One o f the issues that will be diffi cult for us to deal with is the opening of any school by September 2001 if we haven't gone through the construction, tendering and thus the design o f the new facility," said facilities superintendent Gerry Cullen. He suggested hiring an architect immediately to design two schools, using com pressed six-month design periods and possibly reusing previous concepts. "It's a very generic design that w e'd anticipate constructing," said Cullen. "W e'd like to m axim ize our design expenditure by duplicating the design several times over." Differences in school frontage or ser vicing points might cause them to be reconfigured from the basic design, he added. The superintendent said availability o f materials and contractors are two other key elements for completing schools by September 2001. `T h e construction industry is becom ing busier every day and school con struction is becoming popular across Ontario," Cullen noted. He has proposed obtaining designs for Kindergarten-Grade 8 schools with 600 pupil places and reviewing options for junior kindergarten and day-care facilities. W hen questioned by Burlington trustee Sheila Flook, Cullen said the board usually does not issue tenders for architect designs. "In past, we have recommended one architect and brought back three or four other options," he said. Cullen said this practice can be con tinued in future, but only one architect's name was forwarded for the current situ ation. "With this recommendation we don't have time, so w e're going with a tried and true firm." Flook said she could not support the design recommendation. 'T h is would be, in some ways, a new way of doing busi ness," she said. But Burlington trustee M ike Ellis said whatever happens with consultant C.N. Watson's report, the board will need new school designs. The board voted 6-1 to authorize staff to develop site plans and school designs for tw o schools to open next year. Trustees also voted to retain M ekinda Snyder as design architect at a cost of $360,000 for the first school and $ 150,000 for the second one. Education director Dusty Papke said the board would probably be asked to juggle its new elementary school priority list and put Oakville's River Oaks on top. He said River Oaks could replace the Milton urban expansion area as the site recommended for new school construc tion which could start later this year. `T h e numbers are there. They will need all o f those schools," he said. "B ut the priority is not necessarily there, so the Milton school could be shifted down." Papke said if River Oaks was shifted, the construction startup date for a G eorgetow n elem entary school site could be advanced to 2002. The remainder o f the school construc tion schedule suggested under the capital strategic plan would remain the same. The plan recom m ends building 33 new elementary schools and eight new high schools during the next tw o decades. Kick up your heels Friday "C a re to D a n c e ," th e sp e cia l fu n d ra ise r fo r the H alto n T ra u m a C e n tre , is b ac k on trac k fo r F ri. Feb. 25 th. S tu d e n ts fro m a c ro ss O ak v ille w ill u n ite at O te llo 's B a n q u e t H all fo r a v id e o d an c e p a rty - th e first o f its k in d in v o lv in g a v arie ty o f hig h sc h o o ls, in c lu d in g T.A . B la k e lo c k , S t. M ild r e d 's - L ig h tb o u r n , O a k v ille T ra falg a r, Q u ee n E liz a b e th P ark an d Iro q u o is R idge. T h e fu n d ra ise r w orks th is w ay: ad m issio n req u ires th a t stu d e n ts g a th e r a m in im u m o f $25 in p led g es, a lth o u g h ev e ry o n e is e n c o u ra g e d to c o lle c t as m uch as th e y ca n . C o y n e says th a t p riz e s w ill be giv en out to top stu d e n ts an d th e o v e ra ll sc h o o l. T h e m o n e y - w h ich be u se d to k eep and even ex p an d th e C e n tr e 's s e rv ic e s - is v ita l, s in c e m o re th an $ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 is n e e d e d ea c h y ea r to keep th e C e n tre in o p era tio n . ENNISCLARE INTERIORS A T r a d i t i o n of E l e g a n c e S T O R E W ID E W inter S a le From s o fa s to s u ite s ... yo u g e t u n s u rp a s s e d s e le c tio n , s e rv ic e a n d q u a lity . C O N T IN U E S TH E W ood R oom 484 'PLAINS RD. E: BURLINGTON · DESKS & HUTCHES · DRESSERS & ARMOIRES ·TV/VCR UNITS ·BAR STOOLS · MICROWAVE STANDS I · TOY CHESTS | · HIGH CHAIRS UNFINISHED FURNITURE Specializing in Solid Oak, Pine, Maple, Birch · TABLES & CHAIRS ·JE L L Y CUPBOARDS · MIRRORS & PANTRIES ·C H IN A CABINETS ·R O C K IN G CHAIRS · SHELVES · W ALL UNITS | · COFFEE & END TABLES Com puter I cabinet. | Reg. price, $2259. ' Sale $14gg H O U R S : T U E ., W E D ., FR I. 1 0 -5 :3 0 T H U R .1 0 -8 S A T .9 -4 C L O S E DS U N -M O N . 681-6075, (next to Bingo C o n nection). ·M IN W A XP R O D U C T S ·F IN IS H IN GSU PPU E S ·H O M E S T E A DH O U S EP A IN T Girls' twin size slat bed. Over 20 colors. Reg. price, $729. 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