May 2009 - Sound & Communications

Schools & CollegesAs stimulus funds disperse, construction sees uptick.By Dan FerrisiTalk of increased federal governmentexpenditures in theeducation segment has beenubiquitous since the ObamaAdministration’s stimulus packagewas signed into law a fewmonths ago. One criticism of thepackage as a whole was that, althoughmost everybody agreeda cash infusion was needed tojolt the economy back to life,this particular package mightnot dispense the money withsufficient rapidity. Whether thatoft-stated concern is justified remainsto be seen; however, wecan report that plenty of education-relatedconstruction projectsare coming on-line, rangingfrom elementary schools tocollege campuses. And, morespecific to our concerns, audiovisualelements have become requiredin order to grab students’attention and help them learn.These installations probably were alreadyin process before everything hitthe fan, so our results here may not beindicative of the near or distant future.Only time will tell how that money filtersdown; stay tuned.Pharmacy SchoolElon University is in discussions tocreate a pharmacy school on the NCResearch Campus in Kannapolis NC.The pharmacy school, the first suchprogram for the private university, isone option Elon is considering at the350-acre life sciences hub. A feasibilityplan is underway. Establishing sucha school would be costly, requiring abuilding as large as 100,000 squarefeet, and a large faculty.A dedication/ribbon-cutting ceremonywas held for the new $41 millionD’Iberville (MS) High School. Theschool will also serve as a public hurricaneshelter; it boasts its own selfcontainedwater system and can withstandwinds up to 200mph. The school,with a student population of 632, hasthree science labs, two computer labs,vocation trades facilities, football andsoftball practice fields, and a gymnasium,among other amenities.In Huntington WV, a ribbon-cuttingceremony was held recently for thenew St. Joe Grade School. The $6.7million facility has been in use sinceNovember but, before holding the openhouse celebration, officials wanted tocomplete the science lab and gymnasium.The school, which has nearly 50staff and 315 students, is designed toaccommodate 420 students. Presently,the building houses pre-K throughsixth grade but, during upcomingyears, it will add seventh and eighthgrades. The new school marksa leap into the 21 st century, usingcomputers, smart boardsand similar technologies. Inaddition, it has energy-efficientfeatures, including two-levellighting so teachers can turnthe lights down if natural lightis sufficiently bright.Completion IsReachedCompletion has been reachedon a $10 million, 18-classroomaddition to Cajon Park Schoolin Santee CA that houses 450students in grades five througheight. The nearly 33,000-squarefoot,two-story building recentlyopened next to the existing42,000-square-foot Cajon ParkSchool campus that, itself, recentlyunderwent $6.7 millionin modernization (covering K-4classrooms, offices, library/technologycenter, a kitchen and bathrooms). TheCajon Park junior high addition, partof a $165 million school modernizationprogram, is the first new classroombuilding for the Santee School Districtsince 1960.Designed to meet green buildingconstruction standards, the schoolbuilding’s energy-conserving featurescontrol the amount of sunlight enteringthe rooms and electricity needed topower light fixtures. Groundbreakingfor the project was in April 2008, thenew junior high building was completedin December 2008 and modernizationwork was completed in April.In Pittsburg CA, an all-weather syntheticplay surface is being laid atMarina Vista Elementary School. Theapproximately 68,000-square-foot recreationarea will include stadium lighting,72 Sound & Communicationswww.soundandcommunications.com