Greenbriar School Considers $6.5 Million Addition

With a gym that doubles as a lunchroom and is a cramped 2,280 square feet in size—about two-thirds the square footage of most elementary school gyms— administrators say it's time for an addition to the 63-year-old-building.

Plans call for expanding the gymnasium, adding a new, secure entrance, improving drainage and building more classroom and office space. The project could cost $6.5 to $7.2 million, according to Supt. Larry Hewitt, with the money coming from district reserves. An additional $1.5 million in funding for gym improvements could come from the , which currently uses the gym for some of its programs.

“From a taxpayer standpoint, there’s no cheaper time to do it,” Hewitt said at a building committee meeting last week, during which school board members and administrators reviewed tentative plans by architect Wight & Company.

“The project is being done in the most economical climate that is going to give us great construction prices and great labor prices,” Hewitt said.

Currently, Greenbriar classes often double up during physical education, crowding the small gymnasium. And with a maximum capacity of 286 people and a total school enrollment of 360, the space is also too small to hold an all-school assembly. The new gym will not only be bigger but will have a high-school size basketball court, two volleyball courts, and if the Park District kicks in funds, a two-tiered bleacher system as well.

“Whether they do or don’t, it really doesn’t matter,” Hewitt said, explaining that the district would go ahead with the project regardless. School District 28 and the Park District signed an inter-governmental agreement in August, which lays out what’s expected of each party if they cooperate on the project, but does not bind either one to working together.

Bids for the addition will begin to come in during March, according to Hewitt, and the board will consider the options at its March 22 board meeting. On the table is LEED-certification for the building, meaning an inspection to show it meets certain standards for environmental efficiency. But the certification process adds substantially to the cost of the building, and administrators and board members involved in the building committee tended to think it was not worth it.

“I can’t see the board approving it,” said board member and building committee member Madeleine Fern, explaining that other board members would likely balk at the cost.

“It sends a message to the community that we are making sound environmental decisions, and some communities like that better than others,” Supt. Hewitt said at the building committee meeting. “We’re not going to sell this to the board.”

Although the school district does not need a referendum to go ahead with the building project—simply board approval—it is holding a community information night at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Greenbriar gymnasium. School officials will give a 15-minute presentation, then allow community members to ask questions.