THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512190102
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
A MAJOR RENOVATION and expansion of Granby High School remains on schedule for next summer despite a cash shortfall that could delay plans for a new gym and additional classroom computers.
In an update last week for the School Board, engineering consultant John Fowler estimated total costs at more than $24 million. The board has only $21 million available. The district is working to find additional money in the budget.
The price tag for construction is estimated at $22 million, but furnishing the expanded school with desks and equipment will add $1.6 million. The cost to dispose of asbestos removed from portions of the building that will be demolished is estimated at $650,000.
Building a new gym would require an additional $3 million, Fowler said. As a result, Fowler said the school will have to make do with the existing gym and build a new one when money is available.
A proposed indoor swimming pool also will be put on hold.
Deputy Superintendent Frank Sellew said the building will be wired to support as many as five computers in every classroom, including one for each teacher. But the cash crunch may require scaling back, he said.
``We might not be able to afford everything we've designed for in the beginning because we've got to stay within the confines of our budget,'' Sellew said.
Fowler added: ``We are examining every opportunity to make changes and reduce the cost.''
To save money, Fowler said architects are looking at the possibility of reusing existing window frames, doors and staircases and will use any roofing that's in good shape.
About 800 ninth- and 10th-graders will be relocated into the former Catholic High School during the construction work during the next two years. Students attending the old Catholic High building, to be called Granby 2, will not be shortchanged, Fowler said.
``Students at Granby 2 won't lack anything that they have at Granby 1,'' Fowler said. by CNB