Many of these older buildings are beautiful examples of architecture and the community could not afford to construct anything like it today. Beyond cost comparisons, an addition offers several benefits. Students in portables have to travel in inclement weather to attend music, art, and physical education classes, to do research in the media center, to attend school assemblies and special programs, and to make visits to the health or counseling offices. Each trip requires putting on and taking off coats, hats, etc. This is not only disruptive, it reduces the amount of time spent on instruction.
Additions also offer a permanent investment, while portables quickly depreciate in value.
In the spring of 1997, a District Facilities Task Force was formed with more than 200 members, including parents, teachers, and administrators from every school. The task force examined enrollment and other key data, visited schools in the district, and talked with school and maintenance staff. A steering committee then spent considerable time reducing the number of projects and prioritizing the list. A representative from an independent architectural firm worked with staff from the district's Buildings and Grounds department to establish preliminary estimates. The group visited every school.