An issue of space

Parking is seen as the biggest issue facing South Portland High School students during $47.3M expansion

SOUTH PORTLAND — Last week, South Portland High School Principal James Holland broke in a new, 190-space parking lot by the football field, gliding across the new pavement to claim the first space.

“It was pretty nice,” he said, with a wry smile.

But the serenity of that moment didn’t last long. This week, students and staff returned in force to a school that is subject to an ongoing $47.3 million renovation project slated to last through 2014. School officials say some exposed areas and longer walks to class will be the only sign of the project to students inside the school, with parking likely the only major issue left to figure out.

Spaces are at a premium because construction vehicles have taken over the 100-space lot that used to be behind the school, and because there about 140 employees at the school, the new lot won’t quite fill the need, even with a 60-space lot on Highland Avenue. Luckily, the nearby Church of the Nazarene has volunteered its lot, adding another 100 spaces to the mix.

“Even so,” said Holland. “We look to be about 80 spaces short. We are recommending that kids not drive to school for the first couple of days if they don’t have to, until we can work things out.”

One way to work things out, said Holland, may be a student parking permit, although given the recent ballyhoo in Scarborough, he hastens to add that any parking stickers will be free.

“I sent out a letter to parents that that was in capital letters – FREE,” he joked.

If it comes to a permit system, seniors will be given priority. After that, a lottery may be held for any additional spaces in the school lots, with the Nazarene lot available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“The pastor there was very gracious about letting us use that,” said Holland. “It’s a stop-gap measure for now to get us started on the year. We’ll see how it goes and then maybe ask for an extension, if necessary.”

Student Senate President Jackson Beck, who also sits as one of two student representatives on the school board, said parking is “definitely the biggest concern” for students. That, and rumors running rampant that they’ll be relegated to portable classrooms.

But Holland says not to worry. Over the summer, asbestos was removed from much of the original wing – built in 1952 as a junior high school – and in Beal Gymnasium, where the south wall of the 1954 structure was shored up. Other than that, though, construction crews have cleared the building and portables will not factor into the daily lives of students.

“There’s a pretty good separation between us and them,” said Eric Price, superintendent of the project for PC Construction, noting that the school will no remain untouched through 2013. So, no porta-potties for the foreseeable future.

Work is on schedule, Price said. In addition to the abatement work, crews have brought in all of the underground utility lines and have steel framing up for the new cafeteria and auditorium sections. Those sections, along with classrooms on that side of the building are scheduled to be finished by December 2013.

That, said Holland, is when the “big switch” will take place, as students move into the new section and PC goes into demolition mode, knocking down the 1960s-era annex that links the original wing to Beal Gym.

According to Superintendent Suzanne Godin, four portable buildings, each holding two classrooms, will be needed for the second half of the 2013-2014 school year. That may be where students’ porta-potty rumor got started. Still, although students will still have access to genuine bathroom facilities, there’s no way to avoid the temporary need for portable classrooms.

“The reality of it is, we have a major construction project going on right behind the school,” she said.

That project will eventually enlarge the high school by about 100,000 square feet, at an eventual cost of $54 million on the 20-year, $41.5 million bond approved by voters in November 2010, based on numbers provided by city finance director Greg L’Heureux. The balance of the $47.26 million project is covered by a $2.7 million reserve built up by the school through taxation over the last few years, plus $600,000 in usable budget surpluses, $678,350 in energy performance credits, and $1.78 million from an approved-but-as-yet-unused 2010 capital improvement bond for security and electrical systems.

Fees and services on the project, most going to architecture firm Harriman and Associates, come to $3.33 million, while administrative costs are slated to top $4.67 million, although that includes a $1.67 million contingency fund.

For the cost, the expanded high school will fit up to 1,100 students. Projections previously released by Godin did not call for South Portland to dress out more than 1,000 for five years. However, Holland notes there’s already been a slight uptick. The school had 860 students at the close of last school year and the expectation for this year was 865. However, Holland said his most recent count, based on new registrations, is 890.

“That was a little surprising. We’re looking at 25 more than we expected,” said Holland, uncertain where the new students are coming from, but noting that enrollment is often “in a state of flux,” for the first month of the new year. An official head count is not reported to the state until Oct. 1.

For the students who do spend the year in South Portland, there will be few changes, apart from the parking. Athletic Director Todd Livingston says the football field is ready to go, with lighting reinstalled and a path built from the new lot to a ticket booth delivered last week. Fields will be seeded in roughly two weeks.

The tennis courts, removed to make room for construction vehicles, won’t come back until next year, however. Students are expected to use courts in Portland until all seven return as one of the final phases of construction. Meanwhile, Beal Gym will close for rehabilitation in March, after basketball season.

That means the gym cannot be pressed into service for graduation ceremonies this year, in case rain forces seniors off Martin Field. Godin said the school department is trying to work a deal with Southern Maine Community College, if an alternate site is needed.

“A lot of the students in my class have joked that the wish the project could have been held off for one more year,” said Beck, “But, really, I think everyone is excited to be able to look back on it when it’s done, even though it will be after we graduate. This is something South Portland really needs.

“Some students are a little worried about construction noise, but, really, any inconvenience is pretty minor.”

Students will see exposed wires and pipes in the plenum on the ground floor of the original wing, where ceilings were taken out for the asbestos removal. That will keep students reminded of the construction, should they forget to look out windows to the rear of the building. They will only be able to look, though, as the “courtyard cut” used by students in the past to cross from the annex building to the 1997 wing has been closed off.

That means students will have to take the long way around, under the exposed ceilings. More likely than not, said Holland, classes scheduled after lunch will see a fair number of tardy students, at least until they work out walk times for the new commute.

“It will take a few weeks for everyone to settle in and then things will shake out and we’ll make adjustments if we have to,” said Holland.

“A lot of students like to be able to stop by their lockers or the bathroom,” agreed Beck. “It’s not a huge issue, of course, but it is something people will be thinking about – how much longer it takes for them to get where they need to be.”

There also will be more students in the halls, apart from the enrollment spike. The alternative education space known in the One Classroom Project used to be housed in what was originally a storage building out in the parking lot. That was town down when the new lot was built. This year, two other classes have been shuffled to make room for those students in the ground floor of the annex building.

“It’s a fantastic spot, large space, with room for multiple uses,” said Holland. “I’m thrilled to have that program back within the building. I think it provides more opportunities and access for those students.”

Teachers in those programs, as well as others throughout the building, are eager to incorporate the construction project into their classroom, whether its applying the work going on beside the school to lessons on physics, math, engineering or the arts.

In fact there’s only one thing that’s needed at this point, said Holland, and Price couldn’t agree more.

“We’re just praying for a mild winter,” he said.