JACKSON BOARD DISAPPOINTED BY BUILDING SCHEDULE

JACKSON - The Jackson School Board's recent enthusiasm over awarding a lower-than-expected bid for the Jackson Middle School now is being tempered because of a later-than-expected date for starting construction.

That means the middle school will not be ready to use until the start of the 1995-96 school year, instead of next year at this time as had been hoped.

During Tuesday's regular meeting, the board accepted the recommendation of the architects and school administration, and awarded the low base bid of $4,415,0000 that was submitted by Penzel Construction Co. of Jackson.

The board also agreed to add on all of the alternatives, including four additional classrooms, bringing the total price of the school building to $4,725,600.

With the additional site work that was completed last month, the total estimated cost of the new middle school project will be $5,750,679. That's $50,756 below the estimate presented to the board on March 14 of this year.

The bad news is that construction of the school will not begin until early spring of 1994, probably in March. That word came from Phil Penzel, professional engineer and project manager for Penzel Construction.

Penzel said it will take time for all the building material to be ordered and arrive on site. Even if materials were on hand right now, he said, the ground is still too wet to begin work.

The contractor has 485 working days to complete the school after construction begins.

Penzel told the board the middle school project will be 60 percent larger than the Orchard Elementary School that was completed a few years ago.

In a memo to the board, Superintendent Wayne Maupin said the four additional classrooms will raise the total number of classrooms to 28, and will increase the size of the building from 89,053 square feet to 93,570 square feet.

Maupin said the cost per square foot with the additional classrooms will be $50.50, which is below the estimate of $53 per square foot.

In a letter to the school district, architect John Dudley said the additional four classrooms will only cost $32.14 cents per square foot. "You would be unable to add this space at a future time for this cost," said Dudley.

When completed, the middle school will be one of the largest buildings in the Jackson School District. It is designed to accommodate more than 700 students in sixth and seventh grades.

In other business, the board set the filing period for candidates running for the April 1994 school board election. Missouri law requires the opening date and time to be 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4, and the closing time no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Board members whose terms will expire in April are three-term member Larry Koenig and Jack Knowlan Jr., who is completing his second three-year term on the board. Both men told the Southeast Missourian they have not decided at this time whether they will seek reelection.

In other business, the board accepted the resignation of Kent Gibbs, athletic director and assistant Jackson High School principal, effective at the end of the 1993-94 school year.

The board also accepted the June 30, 1993, auditor's report for the school district prepared by the firm of Hendrix, Schwab, Schermann and Company.