Could CMS actually be on the cutting edge of school construction? Thanks to a big private-sector push, could be.
Seems that an architect with experience in post-Katrina modular construction has convinced CMS building gate-keeper Guy Chamberlain to do trial run with a modular unit that is bigger and more expensive than CMS’ standard trailer units, but which is about half expensive as traditional construction. Were the new modular units to form a significant part of future classroom space, CMS could see big savings. The Huntersville Herald reports:
Besides improved aesthetics, the cottage schools can be built for perhaps half the per-square-foot cost of so-called “permanent” construction. [Architect Tom] Low says he thinks the 25- by 80-foot cottages can be built for $75 a square foot. CMS is currently building schools for between $130 and $170 per square foot. Because some other, non-cottage core buildings (cafeterias, gymnasiums) would have to be built, the savings likely wouldn’t be half, but they would be substantial, especially in a system where building needs extend to the horizon and beyond.
CMS has suggested in recent reports that its facing more than $2 billion in construction needs over the next 15 years as it attempts to accommodate an estimated 5,000 new students per year. Squeezing that much money out of voters who resoundingly defeated a 2005 school bond will be difficult. Chopping hundreds of millions from that total would obviously make a huge difference.
“That’s what really caught my eye,” says Chamberlain. “If we could come up with something that could really save a lot of money and still provide us with quality schools, then obviously we’d be all for it. Contrary to popular belief, we are looking for ideas like this all the time.”
Well, Guy, then let’s roll with this one and see where it goes.
