Renovations to the Indianola Middle School building in the University District of Columbus, Ohio have been halted. The original project aimed to renovate the middle school and incorporate the district's K-8 French and Spanish immersion schools under one roof, The Columbus Dispatch reports. By the time officials put the $26 million project on hold to reconsider their options, $1 million had already been spent on the design and construction management fees.
Instead of renovating the historic schoolhouse, the new plan would be to build a new facility in place of the French immersion school, sending students to a temporary space during construction. The Spanish immersion school would be relocated to the nearby Clinton Middle School, which would require renovations before the move can be made.
According to the Dispatch, the newly proposed construction project would cost $4.8 million more than the original plan, not including the funds that have already been spent. Concerned school board members raised questions as to how the $1 million could be recuperated at a recent meeting, and facilities chief Carole Olshavsky indicated there was no direct course of action to recover the money already spent on the original project.
"That building then becomes a vacant building and falls under our normal property rules, which means at some point in time, we would probably offer it for sale or lease," Olshavsky explained to school board members at a meeting earlier this week, according to local news network WBNS-TV.
While welders, forklifts and other construction equipment have been shut down at the Indianola Middle School site, there is no start date in sight for the new construction project, as it still needs board approval. The additional money necessary for the new project would be allocated from the district's contingency fund. The $5.8 million needed to recoup the cost of the original project is just shy of half the contingency fund, which is in place to safeguard any construction projects currently taking place within the district. However, the Dispatch indicates the remaining money would be more than enough to meet the required 3 percent of project costs.
Officials advocating the new project are hoping to get approval by October, so work can begin on construction of the new building and the Clinton Middle School renovation.
