Board discusses architectural firms for potential high school at Tuesday meeting
By Jazmine Knight
During Tuesday’s St. Joseph school board meeting, officials discussed a plethora of items including more information on the long-range plan.
As part of the agenda, the board reviewed an RFQ that requested various architectural engineering land-surveying firms that the board would potentially work alongside to build a new high school.
“We asked companies to give a scope of work for a $130 million high school,” said Superintendent Gabe Edgar. “We had three companies that responded to that.”
Ellison-Auxier Architects, DLR Group, and Goldberg Group Architects are the three companies the district will choose from on Oct. 28. The district currently partners with all three firms on other projects, which leaves Edgar excited for what’s to come.
For Edgar, working with local companies was something of importance. He says companies in St. Joseph typically understand more of the historical perspective that lies within the city.
To help board members select the right company, each firm will be asked to submit a detailed timeline that spans from Oct. 28 through April when the bond for the long-range plan is on the ballot.
The board will also rely on other factors to select the right company such as history working on other completed, successful schools in the state of Missouri.
“A lot of it has to do with a good partnership. A lot of it has to do with a good internal marketing firm. There’s just a lot of different aspects to look at,” said Edgar.
Once the board chooses a final firm, that company will begin drawing renderings and looking at infrastructures and sites.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the board touched on adding a teacher to the Adult Education program to support non-English speakers.
“It’s good in order to give all people in the community a chance in order to learn and grow,” said LaTonya Williams, board president.
She believes this will help communication ties between parents and teachers without having to get the child involved.
