Abby K-12 discusses options for dome


Abbotsfordâs school board held a special meeting on June 23 to discuss financing and floor plan options for a multi-purpose storm shelter that will be partially paid for with a recently awarded FEMA grant.
The district is hoping to use much of the dome-shaped structureâs interior space for additional classrooms to handle Abbotsfordâs growing student population.
Under the original plan, the interior of the dome would include four classrooms, a moderately sized theater stage with pull out bleachers, as well as a middle school sized gym. However, superintendent Sherry Baker unveiled a new floor plan at last weekâs meeting â one that would allow for the creation of six classrooms instead of the previous four.
âI had asked Mason [Rachu] to come up with a plan and he converted the stage area to classrooms,â Baker said, referring to the buildings and grounds manager. âThis represents a world of maximizing classroom space while still providing for significant multi-use in the middle.â
With Rachuâs new design, there would still be a common space; albeit, smaller than the first floor plan. However, the proposed theater would be eliminated, with the extra space then being converted into additional classrooms, giving the district six.
Baker noted that the district is running out of room, and had already maximized every available space.
âRight now all your classrooms are in use. Elementary is entirely leveraged and so is the middle school and high schoolâ Baker said. âSo, the discussion will have to be had at some point, âWhere do you go with what?ââ Jordan Buss of JBAD Solutions, who assisted the district in obtaining FEMA the grant, informed the board that some features, such as a self-sufficient utility and mechanical rooms, as well as menâs and womenâs restrooms, are non-negotiable. However, much of the interior space can be apportioned as the district sees fit.
âYouâre not married to that layout,â Buss said. âAs long as you donât inhibit the minimum eligible space, you have some wiggle room.â
School board member Gary Schraufnagel noted that if the district converts the theater stage into two additional classrooms it would be difficult and expensive to convert it back into a stage at some point in the future. But board member Shanna Hackel noted that the board must âlook at the needs and not the wantsâ of the district.
If the board chose to keep the theater, Baker said it would help encourage a different atmosphere at the district, allowing for greater musical and stage productions as well as bringing a new focus on the arts.
After hearing from Buss that both floor plans could be approved as long as the district meets its financial obligation, the board chose to move forward with the original floor plan, voting to stay with four classrooms instead of six.
Buss said he will share this decision with FEMA.
Baker and the board also discussed options on how to finance the dome, but no decisions were made. In light of the stateâs impending financial shortfall due to the COVID-19 shutdown, Baker said the district must come up with an answer âsooner rather than later.â
Now that the grant has been awarded, the district has three years to complete construction of the dome.