GLASGOW — Glasgow School Board members have a better idea what the new high school will look like when construction of the building is complete.

 

School board members not only approved on Monday night the schematic design for the building, which shows the layout of the school, but also a design for the building’s facade.

 

According to an architect’s rendering, the facade will be traditional in appearance.

 

School board members were given three renderings from which to choose. After viewing all three, they chose one with columns and large windows at the entrance, similar to those at Glasgow Middle School.

 

“I think it’s an ageless building. It’s a building that will not look dated,” said Elaine Richardson, school board member, about the design.

 

School board members agreed earlier to keep the existing gymnasium, locker rooms, and band and vocational technology classrooms. The school will be centered around the gymnasium, with the kitchen and cafeteria extending to the right of the building and an auditorium to the left, according to the schematic design.

 

Classrooms will be located on the main floor, as well as the second floor, and the school‘s administrative offices will be situated at the front of the building providing a much safer and secure entrance to the school. A new media center will also be two-story.

 

“I loved it. I was really impressed with it. I can’t wait to get more details,” said Amelia Kiser, school board member. “I think it’s going to be great for our students and it’s going to give them a lot of opportunities that we haven’t been able to provide in their current building.”

 

Approving plans for a new high school is a moment in history for the school board, according to Chris Lawrence, school board member.

 

The school board met in special session prior to its regularly scheduled meeting Monday to discuss what it could do to make the new high school more energy efficient. Some of the options mentioned during a Power Point presentation by representatives of Sherman, Carter, Barnhart, the architectural firm designing the building, were using insulated concrete walls, installing a geothermal HVAC system, developing a more energy efficient kitchen, or going with a design that will provide more natural daylight to offset utility costs.

 

 Also mentioned was the possibility of choosing a Leadership Energy and Environmental Design or LEED, which is an internationally recognized green building certification system for which the school board could earn points based on the new high school’s energy efficiency.

 

Steve Sherman, with Sherman, Carter and Barnhart, told school board members that while it was good for them to focus on energy efficiency, they needed to discuss what their goals are for the new school in regards to energy efficiency before making a decision on which things to implement.

 

“When you start looking at LEED, and things like that, you could pick up points for very little money and you could spend a whole lot of money for points,” Sherman said. “You shouldn’t just be chasing points. You ought to be doing what is the right strategy for the district.”

 

He also told school board members if they do decide to go with LEED, then that is a decision they need to make within the next 30 days. Other things they should consider in that same length of time are whether they want to incorporate skylights in the design in order to provide more natural daylight and what type of roof they want the school to have.

 

The pitch of the roof could effect the energy efficiency of the building.

 

“Everybody likes pitched metal roofs, but when you put on pitched metal roofs, you’re right off the bat making the building less energy efficient, because you’ve got this big volume of space up there. You’re tempering that air,” he said.

 

LaDonna Rogers, vice chairman of the school board, asked Sherman if he thought the school board had enough funding to do some of the things mentioned in the presentation.

 

“Yes, I think some of these initial things. I mean Tommy [Gumm with Alliance Corporation] is at a bit of a disadvantage right now [because] what we’ve got and what we’ve given him is what you see,” Sherman said. “He doesn’t know which one of those potential elevations we might be using.”

 

Sherman said his company wants to provide the school board with the logic behind going in a certain direction, but said it was up to the school board to make the decisions.

 

School board members took no action Monday night regarding the energy efficiency of the building.

 

Jerry Ream, school board chairman, said he thought the school board needed more information before making decisions on how to make the school energy efficient.

 

After the meeting, Ream said he felt the school board would choose to do some of the things mentioned in the presentation, such as the use of skylights to allow more natural daylight in the building. In the Power Point presentation, it was noted that students exposed to more natural daylight perform better on tests, which was something Ream liked.

 

The school board did approve a buildings and grounds permit or BG-1 for the new school Monday night. The BG-1 totals to $22,567,197. It also approved acceptance of proposal for geotechnical, special inspections and quality assurance testing for the new school, and agreed to enter into contract with former interim superintendent Charlie Campbell, of Campbell Consulting Inc., for facilities construction, renovation and planning. The board agreed to make Campbell’s contract retroactive to July 1.