The Wright City R-II School Board received a clearer glimpse into the possibility of building a new high school during its monthly meeting on June 24. Graphic designs for multiple phases were considered, as the district moves forward with the idea of a no-tax increase bond issue as early as April 2022.

“The architect won’t let us term what we looked at as preliminary design,” said Superintendent Dr. Chris Berger. “This just puts the board’s previous feedback on paper.”

The plan is to meet the need for accommodating R-II’s growing enrollment by constructing a new high school on property south of town along Highway F, purchased by the district in 2010. Wright City’s current high school has an existing capacity of 470 students, while the new facility would be built to service 600 students.

“It’s important to note that whenever we enter that building, we don’t want to enter a building that’s already full and at capacity,” said Berger. “Our classroom sizes on average will expand about 200 square feet per class. We’re trying to design a building that we can grow within and sustain for a number of years.”

The task the district is currently facing is fitting all the necessary components into its proposed $35 million budget for the project. This has resulted in the proposal of a two-phase project, which could potentially result in the pursuit of a second no-tax increase bond issue in 2029. 

“If the board chooses to go to the ballot in April, seven years after that in 2029 they’d be able to come back with another no-tax increase and be able to complete Phase 2,” said Berger.

Phase One would be focused on moving the classrooms and academic needs of the school to the new location, while later transitioning over the athletic and extracurricular components. 

“That $35 million only gets us academic housing,” explained Berger. “It doesn’t get us any of the athletic fields or performance arts auditorium.”

Assuming that the bond issue passes in 2022 and The Wright City R-II School Board received a clearer glimpse into the possibility of building a new high school during its monthly meeting on June 24. Graphic designs for multiple phases were considered, as the district moves forward with the idea of a no-tax increase bond issue as early as April 2022.

“The architect won’t let us term what we looked at as preliminary design,” said Superintendent Dr. Chris Berger. “This just puts the board’s previous feedback on paper.”

The plan is to meet the need for accommodating R-II’s growing enrollment by constructing a new high school on property south of town along Highway F, purchased by the district in 2010. Wright City’s current high school has an existing capacity of 470 students, while the new facility would be built to service 600 students.

“It’s important to note that whenever we enter that building, we don’t want to enter a building that’s already full and at capacity,” said Berger. “Our classroom sizes on average will expand about 200 square feet per class. We’re trying to design a building that we can grow within and sustain for a number of years.”

The task the district is currently facing is fitting all the necessary components into its proposed $35 million budget for the project. This has resulted in the proposal of a two-phase project, which could potentially result in the pursuit of a second no-tax increase bond issue in 2029. 

“If the board chooses to go to the ballot in April, seven years after that in 2029 they’d be able to come back with another no-tax increase and be able to complete Phase 2,” said Berger.

Phase One would be focused on moving the classrooms and academic needs of the school to the new location, while later transitioning over the athletic and extracurricular components. 

“That $35 million only gets us academic housing,” explained Berger. “It doesn’t get us any of the athletic fields or performance arts auditorium.”

Assuming that the bond issue passes in 2022 and allows for construction to begin on the new high school, Berger anticipates the total transition process could be drawn out over nearly a decade.

“Right now everything we have drawn up in Phase One is encompassed in that $35 million,” said Berger. “We can’t have it all right now, but with careful planning we can over time. We just don’t feel like bringing anything that’s going to increase taxes or burden the public into play.”

Under Phase One, high school classes could be held at the new building as early as January of the 2024-25 school year. Until Phase Two comes to fruition, students would likely have to travel to the existing high school facility for extracurricular practices and competitions. 

“We see schools that have remote athletic facilities pretty frequently,” said Berger. “It’s absolutely not ideal and that’s why we have a plan to address it in Phase Two. We think a good plan laid out over time is the best route to go for our community.”

With the architect having received new feedback from the board, the next step will be getting a more precise estimate of expenditures for the project.

“We need to get that cost estimate firmed up and continue to develop the plans for what would be called a preliminary design,” said Berger.