The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

February 4, 2010

UPDATE: Work proceeds on Brookfield's new school

By Patrick Cooley

BROOKFIELD — Anyone who drives by the site of the future Brookfield K-12 school building on Bedford Road will notice that it’s starting to look more and more like a school. Concrete walls are going up, and the skeletal beginnings of the roof are visible from the road.

That is a stark contrast from this summer, when passers-by could only see construction equipment and a few crews pouring concrete for the building's foundation.

Construction Manager Dan Doyle said over the summer they mostly did groundwork, moving dirt to make way for the foundation, but now the building it self is being erected.

“We’re roughly halfway through the masonry,” he said. “We’re a little behind, but not too much. We have plenty of time in this project.”

Barring some kind of disaster, Doyle said, the school should be finished on schedule by March 2011.

The building will have three long sections — one each for high school, middle school and elementary students —running north and south, which are starting to take shape.

Brookfield Superintendent Tim Saxton said the crews responsible for putting in the plumbing and electrical wiring have been following the masons around the construction site and installing the wires and pipes where they can.

The project started in late June, and when all is said and done it is expected to cost around $35 million. A portion of the cost will be paid by the state of Ohio, and the rest will be paid for by a 7.4 mill, 28-year levy passed by Brookfield township voters.

Saxton said the district is planning to have the building open for the 2011-2012 school year provided construction is finished by then.

“We put the window between March and June,” Saxton said.

The district will have roughly $1.5 million left from its local share after the construction is paid for, he said, and right now the school board is looking at ways they can spend that money. Several ideas were bandied about at a recent school board meeting, including an eight lane, all-weather track, a weight room and wrestling room and an area to house the administrative offices.

“This first is additional parking,” Saxton said.

Geothermal pipes have been installed with the intent of saving the school district money on heating and cooling costs.

The school board and the administration have put together an advisory committee to recommend what the colors of the new building should be. The committee, Saxton said, would be made up of staff from the school representatives from the parents association and a representative from the school board.

School board members said they old buildings will be demolished, except for the elementary school, which is located on the West Hill in Sharon, and is therefore ineligible to be part of an Ohio project. That building will be sold, board members said.

Text Only
Local News