QUOTE
MCAS board discusses plans for new school buildings
By Deborah Sederberg, The News-Dispatch
The new Mullen Elementary School will move, but only a bit to the west on the same property.
The new Pine Elementary School, on the other hand, might move or it might not.
At a work session Tuesday night, Michigan City Area Schools board members heard from Hebard & Hebard, architects charged with designing Mullen, and Fanning-Howey Associates, architects for the Pine project.
Richard Hebard's proposal is to build Mullen as a long, two-level rectangle with a center core, where administrators, a health clinic, a social worker and family resource center would be located.
“The family resource center comes from your strategic plan,” Hebard reminded the board.
“Parents and other visitors would be able to visit the clinic and the resource center without breaching the security of the classroom area,” he added.
Students would use the main entrance to the school, while visitors would use a different door.
Board member Clyde Zeek objected to the design because he said the services, especially the clinic, seemed too far away from the classroom areas.
To put it at one end of the hall or the other, Hebard said, would do so even further away from at least two groups of students.
“And we need to have the clinic near the administrative core,” he added.
Fanning-Howey architect Doug Wickstrom proposed a design of academic neighborhoods with each grade level grouped around restrooms and coat storage.
“Students would leave their areas for music, art, dining and gym,” Wickstrom explained. “And that's all they would know of the school.”
The neighborhood design, he said, prevents students from feeling lost in a big school building. Pine will be designed to accommodate 600 students.
At this point, no one knows where Pine will be built, “but this design is not tightly driven by any particular site,” Wickstrom said.
Essentially, three sites are under consideration. One is just south of the present school at 1594 N. Porter County Road 500 East in Pine Township. The school corporation already owns that property.
Another possible site is at County Line Road where LaPorte County Road 400 North comes to a dead end. A third location under consideration is on LaPorte County Road 1675 North (Old Chicago Road), just across from the WIMS transmitter.
The cost to bring city water to each site likely would influence the board's decision.
MCAS will spend about $38.5 million on the two schools, plus an addition to Marsh Elementary School.
By Deborah Sederberg, The News-Dispatch
The new Mullen Elementary School will move, but only a bit to the west on the same property.
The new Pine Elementary School, on the other hand, might move or it might not.
At a work session Tuesday night, Michigan City Area Schools board members heard from Hebard & Hebard, architects charged with designing Mullen, and Fanning-Howey Associates, architects for the Pine project.
Richard Hebard's proposal is to build Mullen as a long, two-level rectangle with a center core, where administrators, a health clinic, a social worker and family resource center would be located.
“The family resource center comes from your strategic plan,” Hebard reminded the board.
“Parents and other visitors would be able to visit the clinic and the resource center without breaching the security of the classroom area,” he added.
Students would use the main entrance to the school, while visitors would use a different door.
Board member Clyde Zeek objected to the design because he said the services, especially the clinic, seemed too far away from the classroom areas.
To put it at one end of the hall or the other, Hebard said, would do so even further away from at least two groups of students.
“And we need to have the clinic near the administrative core,” he added.
Fanning-Howey architect Doug Wickstrom proposed a design of academic neighborhoods with each grade level grouped around restrooms and coat storage.
“Students would leave their areas for music, art, dining and gym,” Wickstrom explained. “And that's all they would know of the school.”
The neighborhood design, he said, prevents students from feeling lost in a big school building. Pine will be designed to accommodate 600 students.
At this point, no one knows where Pine will be built, “but this design is not tightly driven by any particular site,” Wickstrom said.
Essentially, three sites are under consideration. One is just south of the present school at 1594 N. Porter County Road 500 East in Pine Township. The school corporation already owns that property.
Another possible site is at County Line Road where LaPorte County Road 400 North comes to a dead end. A third location under consideration is on LaPorte County Road 1675 North (Old Chicago Road), just across from the WIMS transmitter.
The cost to bring city water to each site likely would influence the board's decision.
MCAS will spend about $38.5 million on the two schools, plus an addition to Marsh Elementary School.