School board approves middle school addition fees

The Hudson Board of Education approved a contract with Hoffman of Appleton to design and manage the construction of a $2 million addition to the Hudson Middle School to address overcrowding at the school.

According to the contract, the district will pay design and architecture fees in the amount of $118,125 as well as a construction management fee of $52,768.

The school has a current capacity of 1,125 students and an enrollment of 1,211, 86 students over capacity. The plan also calls for the use of three classrooms at Hudson Prairie Elementary, which is connected to the middle school, to alleviate classroom shortages.

The addition will be to the middle school cafeteria and will provide more space for physical education, orchestra and band classrooms and more space in the cafeteria. The addition will also allow for more girls locker room space by moving the existing weight room to the addition.

Hoffman also provided a design that would provide for a basement under the proposed addition. Director of Financial Services Tim Erickson said the additional basement storage space will only be considered if it can be done within the $2 million budget.

The board also gave Erickson and Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten the authority to make changes or decisions about the project as long as they are within the scope and budget.

Hoffman was the architect of River Crest Elementary School as well as the project manager. The district administration recommended that the board give the middle school project to Hoffman based on their work on River Crest, which came in on budget and on time. The goal is to have the middle school addition up and running by January 2011. The board agreed that because of Hoffman’s track record as well as its familiarity with the district, the company could accommodate the tight schedule of the project.

Tags: middle school, school board, education