Landmark’s future uncertain

By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

November 05, 2009 11:33 pm

— PENDLETON — Expansion at Pendleton Heights Intermediate School could come at the cost of a three-story building that’s been a part of the historical town since 1936.
The South Madison Community School Board on Thursday evening reviewed proposals that Superintendent Thomas Warmke said would be presented to the community in upcoming forums at all three elementary schools in the system.
Some of the plans to add classroom space at the former middle school involve plans to demolish the 73-year-old “high rise” building that includes classroom space and an auditorium on the second and third floor.
Martin Truesdell of Stair Associates presented a variety of options to add six classrooms at the intermediate school, some of which preserve the building and some that include tearing it down to clear the way for parking and bus pick-up space. Plans range in cost from $1.2 million to $5.4 million.
Warmke told the board he hoped for a decision on expansion within a year. He pledged to use the time ahead to share the options with the public.
“I want to saturate the community with this information so they can know what the options are and the costs,” he said.
Truesdell said the most cost-effective plans include adding class space while preserving the building, but he said doing so would create problems with the flow of students, location of rest rooms and security issues.
Financial officer Joe Buck also said the school district would be paying to heat and cool a 42,000-square-foot facility that includes the auditorium and unassigned space.
But in the historic town, “There is a critical mass of parents that have a nostalgia for that high rise,” Warmke said after the meeting. “If we keep it, it’s going to cost a lot more money.”

Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com