Fine Arts Wing to be Expanded

Project Parkway met on Monday, Nov. 15 and decided on a project that will add onto the fine arts department of Parkway North, by creating more classroom and storage space in the department as well as the second floor, changing the layout of the building and alleviating overcrowding issues.

“North is much more crowded than any other high school, and enrollment is still increasing. We hope this addition will alleviate overcrowding,” said Jane Thal, a volunteer for Project Parkway.

The plan for this addition would mainly add classrooms around the perimeter of the fine arts department and will extend that part of the building out to the parking lot. This addition will be three stories affecting both floors of the school and extend down to the basement for storage. Because classrooms will be added, rooms that are already in place will have to be shifted, to allow construction workers to put in real walls and fix the ventilation system.

“[The addition] will hopefully alleviate the ventilation problems and take out all fake walls,” said Thal, “This will also allow us to remove asbestos in the building.”

Because the school will be gutted, those working on the project will also be able to remove asbestos while the school is under construction. This project is an alternative to the other plan Project Parkway had in place to address overcrowding and structural problems, which was to tear the school down and rebuild it from scratch.

“The asbestos has to be removed,” Thal said, “but it will save money to remove it and build on the shell of what we have than to start over from scratch. This is also better than relocating students for two years to rebuild.”

Project Parkway opted against rebuilding the school completely because that would cost roughly $10 million more than what it will cost to put the addition in to the fine arts department and relocate classrooms.

However, this project is still expensive and Project Parkway doesn’t yet have the money required to pay for construction. One way Project Parkway hopes to fund the project is by a bond issue.

“[This project] is a great concept but we currently don’t have enough money. We need the economy to improve so property values increase and the district is in a better financial place to fund this project. But we also need voters to pass a bond issue that will help us fund this project,” Thal said.

The addition to the fine arts department will be an important one not only because it will help alleviate overcrowding, but it will also make the building safer. This project takes precedent over others in the district.

“There are a lot more projects in Parkway that need to be done; however, because of the asbestos in the building, this is a safety issue,” Thal said.

 If voters want to see Parkway North’s building expanded and asbestos removed, they will need to vote in favor of Project Parkway’s bond issue that will go on the ballot in 2014.

by Jo Treadway