Dist. 300 Board Votes to Proceed With Portable Buildings, IA Annex

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Du Quoin Board of Education Thursday voted to take bids on a $1.1 million industrial arts annex that will complement the new Du Quoin High School and on approximately $600,000 worth of portable classrooms that will house the district's high school students and staff during the 18 months of construction.

The vote came following a half-hour presentation by architect Paul Lunsford and son Garrett, who told the board, "There is no work in Southern Illinois and this is a good time to do this project."

The tables at left show the construction cost details of what Lunsford believes will be a $17.9 million building project that includes $12.6 million for construction of the two-story academic building, administrative offices, a media center, new kitchen, commons and a second all purpose gymnasium that will be complement to the existing Anders gymnasium.

He told the board that the glassed-in media center on the front of the building "hits a home run" for students and is aesthetically pleasing to the surrounding neighborhood.

Under the construction schedule, the state would provide bonding in October, students would occupy the portables by Christmas break and the new building and its athletic amenities--including a new girls' softball field, would be in place by the opening of classes in August 2011.

Lunsford gave the board a power point presentation with drawings of the building, the industrial arts annex and the floor plan.

Those drawings appear on today's Pages 14 and 15. The only change at this writing would be the creation of two large shop bays in the industrial arts building instead of three and the possible addition of larger does to allow larger equipment into the shop and the possibility of an overhead door between the two shops.