R-I buys modular unit for expansion of Lake Road

A new modular classroom unit will be added to the Lake Road Elementary campus next school year to adjust for an expansion that will include sixth grade.

Poplar Bluff R-I Schools will purchase a 24-by-68 foott unit from Perry County Schools District 32 of Perryville for $45,110. It will also cost $8,000-10,000 to relocate the unit.

Perry County Schools bought the unit new in 2017 and only used it for two years, according to documents given to the R-I school board.

Dr. Amy Jackson, R-I assistant superintendent of business, said Perry Schools purchased the unit while doing renovations and no longer needs it.

Jackson said the Perry Schools spent around $108,000 to purchase and set up the new unit.

The unit comes with handicap accessible bathrooms, LED lighting, HVAC and a ramp. It was the high bid that the district received by $110.

R-I school board members voted in December to expand Lake Road for the third year in a row, to include sixth-grade classes.

It has been a gradual move over the last few years to allow students to stay at the elementary school longer, with the goal of increasing enrollment.

In 2018, when the change started, Lake Road’s enrollment consisted of 170 students compared to over 300 for the other elementary schools in the district.

At the December meeting, Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, said the district would need this modular classroom to have enough space on the campus for these students. At the time, he discussed leasing a unit for around $10,000-$12,000 a year.

“We looked at possibly leasing as well and (this) was the most cost effective (option),” Jackson said. “They had put it out to bid previously and I think the highest bid was $10,000.

“So, they re-bid it, understandably so. I feel blessed to be able to get this because there is minimal adjustments to fit our needs.”

The plan is to use the unit for a computer lab and library. This would free up two classrooms in the current building, Jackson said. For this plan, the only work needed to the unit is to remove one interior wall.

“The thought process behind putting the library out there and going through all the trouble of moving that is for the continuity of it,” Dill said. “You want all your core classrooms in the building.”

Jackson said the goal is to have the unit in place prior to summer, which would allow faculty and administration to make the necessary moves in a timely manner.

Board member Alana Robertson voiced concern about the walkway out to this unit and whether it would be covered. Dill said the walkways would not initially be covered.

“If you put those two, the library and the computer lab out there, that means every child in the school has to walk through the rain and the snow in order to get to those classes,” she said. “If we have a bad rainy year or lots of snow and ice, that means every kid has to walk there. If you have a classroom out there, that’s only 30 kids.”

Dill said when he and Jackson were recently out on campus, they discussed the need to cover those walkways at some point.

The modular unit currently on campus will still be used for art and music. Students already make the walk out to that unit.

“I don’t know if there’s been a significant number of difficulties, but I agree with you,” Dill said.

Jackson said she would look into the cost of putting those coverings up and present it to the board for consideration as part of next year’s budget.