First Look at New Du Quoin High School

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Paul Lunsford of Lunsford Architects has delivered to Du Quoin Community Unit District 300 its latest rendering of the proposed new Du Quoin High School, and the floor plan that goes with it.

A full seven years after the Illinois General Assembly and Capital Development Board promised to build this school, District 300 and the people of Du Quoin may finally see it happen.

The 87,000 square feet of academic space and 11,000 square feet of vocational space to be built in a separate annex on the southeast corner of the high school site will replace a vintage 1955 building--which will turn 55 years old in 2010.

Much of Thursday's Board of Education meeting will be devoted to funding updates, a timeline for construction and decisions on details of the plan. The new school (pictured above) is largely the creation of teachers, staff members and students who completed surveys advising the board of education on the needs and amenities deemed most critical to a new building.

The board has its entitlement letter in hand but not its confirmation of funding, expected in October.

Unless this is another broken promise, 32 portable classrooms could be moved onto the nearby R.A. Wheatley School site between Thanksgiving and Christmas with students beginning class in the portables in January 2010.

Demolition would take place in mid-winter and footings on the new building would be poured as soon as the weather breaks in the spring of 2010. All told, demolition and construction would take place over 18 months and students would occupy the new Du Quoin High School in the fall of 2011.

Students would have use of the existing DHS gymnasium, auditorium and band room. Teachers and staff housed in the portable classrooms would have use of the gym and restrooms at Theobald Gymnasium on the R.A. Wheatley School property. A lunchroom would be set up in the gym as it was years ago when R.A. Wheatley was used as an elementary school. Supt. Dr. Gary Kelly said the old R.A. Wheatley kitchenette on the west end on the gym could be put back in some form or fashion providing at least some food preparation, refrigeration and steam tables.

"We have held onto the basic footprint--with some changes," said Dr. Kelly. "We want to make sure we have a facility with adaptability, ability to expand, more electrical capabilities and a more efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

The electrical service and physical plant at the current high school are underwhelming in terms of today's needs.

"We will have more green spaces around the high school," he said. The new building will be constructed on the edge of East South Street and will eliminate all parking in front of the high school in an effort to be more considerate of the neighborhood. Parking will wrap around the east, south and west sides of the building.

The new school will benefit from a second, all-purpose gymnasium to complement Anders Gymnasium. R.P. Hibbs Auditorium and the band room all remain intact. Except for the possibility of the addition of a girls' softball field, all of the athletic facilities will remain intact but with improvements.

Everything from the current gymnasium lobby eastward will be new construction and will include the all purpose gym, administrative offices, new cafeteria and commons area and 40 academic classrooms that will include new computer labs. There will be new kitchen, a new wellness office for a school nurse and in the annex on the southeast corner of the property a three-bay vocational education shop and three vocational classrooms.

The original price tag seven years ago was $13 million with $10 million coming from the Capital Development Board and $3 million coming from the half-cent sales tax voters approved to retire the local share of any bonding.

The district has already accomplished new parking and extensive renovations to Anders Gymnasium. Even at that, the estimated price for construction has now climbed to between $16 and $18 million with a promise from the City of Du Quoin to turn revenue from an existing half-cent sales tax approved by voters back over to the school district.

Supt. Kelly is not bashful in reminding the General Assembly, the Capital Development Board and the Office of Education of its hold harmless promise to colleges and universities that the state would make up for any appreciation in the costs of construction on higher education campus construction. He argues that doing so is the least the state can do for promises broken over the last seven years.

We are all also reminded of how the previous administration handed million dollar checks to the Carterville school district and to developers of the Southern Illinois Miners baseball stadium, which offended every single school district on the 2003 capital construction list.

Paul Lunsford is going to provide the school district with an electronic version of the floor plan for the new school. When it becomes available, the newspaper will take two facing inside pages to reproduce that plan in detail for the public's review.