Schools

School District Restores $624K Worth of Work To Edna Maguire Modernization

With other items costing less than projected, the running track, covered garden, durable shades and more have been added back into the plan.

The running track, covered garden and tackable walls for hanging student artwork are just some of the items that have been added back into the plans for the new Edna Maguire campus.

The addition of more than $624,000 worth of work is already included in the $35 million reconstruction project that’s being funded by Measure C, a bond measure approved by voters in November 2009.

With the school nearing completion by December the district has a stronger financial picture of project costs and the funds became available in a “budget scrub." By going through individual line items staff identified tasks that were below initial projections said Pete Norgaard of Van Pelt Construction Services, which is managing the modernization plan.

On Wednesday the Mill Valley School District Board approved an amendment to the lease-leaseback agreement with Overaa Construction in order to restore many of the items that were previously trimmed due to financial concerns.

“When trying to take approximately $5 million out of the original design, there was always the hope and desire that some things could go back in,” Norgaard said. 

The seven restored items include a running track, tackable wall panels in classrooms, additional shelving units under the windows, durable Mecho shades, concrete seatwalls, a covered garden area, and further revisions to the multipurpose room.

“These are very much staff and community driven, and very much the highest priority,” Norgaard said.

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Item breakdown:

  • Running Track - $15,934
  • Tackable Wall - $140,981
  • Casework - $118,920
  • Concrete seatwalls - $127,469
  • Outdoor Learning Building - $88,170
  • Mecho shades - $114,191
  • Building B Revisions - $19,042
  • Total - $624,697

Project Update and Move-in Plans

Find out what's happening in Mill Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The school district board also approved a plan that would give Edna students an extra week off from December 16 – 20 for staff to complete the move into the new school once the project is complete. To compensate for the time off, the district will extend the school day by 12 minutes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for the entire school year.

Mill Valley School District officials were hoping the new Edna Maguire campus would be ready in time for the first day of school on Aug. 29, but inclement weather and delays in steel production have pushed that time-frame into the winter.

After the classrooms have all been moved into the new campus, the interim campus will be dismantled during the two-week winter recess. The restoration of Alto Field and the completion of the new parking lot – where the interim campus is currently located – will start in January 2014, and will take between three to five months to complete.

Work is moving along steadily, and the summer will be busy Tim Ryan, the district’s director of maintenance and operation, said in an online update. Check out the video he posted of the work in progress.

With school out, the campus will be closed until Sunday, August 25 for construction, the removal of playground equipment, and the reconfiguration of the Children’s Garden. This means no pedestrian access through the campus and playgrounds during the next 10 weeks.

The Edna Maguire parking lot will also be under construction and portions will be used for contractor parking, Ryan said. The Ring Mountain Day School parking lot will be used for Marin Day's preschool, West American Tae Kwan Do, and contractor parking. This summer Bright Horizons will also begin Phase 1 construction of their preschool playground behind the existing Kindergarten wing of Edna Maguire. 

The bike path is on track to reopen on July 4.


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