The new Flamson Middle School in Paso Robles should look like the original campus built in 1924, a special committee of community members has decided.
The school at 24th and Spring streets was damaged in the 2003 San Simeon earthquake. Since then Flamson has been using mostly portable classrooms and some classroom space not damaged in the quake for housing its 775 students.
The new school will accommodate more than 500 students at a time and all children will likely use it at some point during the school day, district business manager Gary Hoskins said.
"Flamson Middle School is one of the first things people see when they come into town off the freeway and stop at the light at the intersection," said John Hamon, a design committee member and city planning commissioner. "We thought that it was important for the new school to look similar to the original."
The design features a two-story, wood-and-steel building with a brick facade. Plans include 19 classrooms, a library and office space. The new school will be in the same southeastern corner of the site as the previous building.
The 17 members of the committee shared their views on the design drafted by the firm Heiser and Associates Inc. of San Rafael. The committee chose from about 10 proposals.
District officials were in favor of a different look, but they decided to present the committee's pick to state officials when they meet to discuss design approval in coming weeks.
"The committee thought the design we liked looked too much like a Motel 6," district Superintendent Patrick Sayne said. He said the committee's desired brick facade adds expense to the project.
District officials say construction costs have risen drastically since an $8.3 million estimate was made a year ago. They will receive that amount from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state Office of Emergency Services for the structure and expect to be awarded any necessary funding above the $8.3 million.
Some committee members wanted to see a new auditorium to replace the heavily used one in the damaged building. But Sayne said that an auditorium wasn't discussed in the funding negotiations and that the state considers it outside the scope of a necessary educational facility for a middle school.
The federal and state funding agreement is for replacement of the school with one of "the same size and building capacity." Replacement of a school is extremely rare and usually only happens in the case of a major earthquake or flood in California, said OES spokesman Greg Renick.
Construction is tentatively scheduled for completion by fall 2007, but school officials say that deadline is optimistic, given delays they've had in meetings with the OES, the administrator of the project.
The district plans to meet soon with the OES for design approval.
