Morris Community High School open house shows designs, cost for potential addition

Morris Community High School showed its work Saturday during an open house, where it displayed designs and shared costs for a $67 million addition and renovation to the high school.

Morris residents will vote on the referendum, which would provide funding for a two-story addition that includes a new cafeteria, classrooms and more along with a renovation of the current building. It also includes using geothermal energy for the school’s cooling and heating, which architects from Green and Associates said would end up being cheaper eventually thanks to available grants.

Superintendent Craig Ortiz said safety and security is the most important thing, and this project gets everyone under one roof. The current school building has students going outside to get to the STEM building and the arts building, both of which will be torn down.

“This is the smartest, most efficient way to connect and while it isn’t just a matter of connection, but it’s a matter of that current 300 building (STEM building) is a really problematic space,” Ortiz said. “There was a main part in other additions, and it has three different roofs on it. If we had to renovate that, it would really be a tear down and rebuild. If you’re going to do that, why not connect it?”

Ortiz said it’s also important to limit the locking and unlocking of doors that goes on during the day.

Architect Stephen Chassee said the addition and renovation will be designed, so students won’t be able to tell when they’re going from one building to the other.

“The classrooms will have a modern feeling, modern lighting, the AV and technology and learning spaces for educational adequacy,” Chassee said. “Those are the things that will exist in the renovated part of the building that will mirror the addition.”

Business Official Elizabeth Shields this project is more in line with what the taxpayers desired. The original plan was to build an entirely new school, which would have cost around $126 million. Shields said this plan still allows the district to have a cohesive building with secure entrances and a one-stop-shop for visitors and guests so they aren’t traveling through the school to get to offices.

The plan also renovates bathrooms and brings them up to code.

“A lot of things that need to be done are coming up, a lot like when you’re in a house for 20 or 30 years or, in this case, 60 to 70,” Shields said. “There are some big replacements that have to be made such as your heating and air conditioning or water. We’re at that point where we have several of those things coming due right now. The best way to do that, from a fiscal standpoint, is to have a comprehensive project like this. If we don’t, we will still have to do those things, but it’s not as cohesive of a plan, and we might spend a little more doing it that way.”

Ortiz said either way, the district will have to spend money. It’s not an issue of spend or don’t spend, rather an issue of smart spending and planning.

Shields said a taxpayer who has a home value of $100,000 would pay an additional $78 per year in taxes if this referendum were to go through. A taxpayer who has a median value home for Morris of $277,000 would pay an additional $243 per year.

For more information on the referendum, visit morrishs.org and click on the Morris1010Next button. There, the district has laid out all the information on the referendum, including a tax calculator.