By Ryan Chalk
Article Launched: 07/18/2008
Proposed rendering of the new Fairmont Charter Elementary School in Vacaville. Construction is set to begin soon. (Artist's rendering)
Construction projects at Fairmont Charter Elementary School and Will C. Wood High School got the thumbs up from members of the Board of Education on Thursday night.
Trustees unanimously approved environmental impact reports for the construction of a new Fairmont Charter Elementary School along with a lease agreement to Roebbelen Contractors, Inc., in the amount of $3,791,499 for the site clearing, grading and development necessary for the future construction of the school.
Fairmont Elementary School was originally constructed in 1968. In 2006, cost estimates showed that it would cost the same to bring the school up to modern standards as it would to build a new one.
Set to open in the fall of 2009, the new charter school will feature a 53,392-square-foot school building complete with classrooms, offices, a multipurpose room, library and computer lab.
"It's going to make a huge difference for the students, the teachers and parents at Fairmont," said Superintendent John Aycock. "So many times you only get to build a new school in a new neighborhood."
With Will C. Wood's new science building under construction, Fairmont will become the second two-story facility in the Vacaville Unified School district.
"It's a charter school so the emphasis will be on technology," added Aycock.
Relocation of portables at Fairmont is currently under way and within the coming weeks, construction fencing will go up around the west field and parking lot in anticipation of grading and site development, according to Leigh Coop, facilities director for the school district. By August, construction will pick up steam and residents will see construction work such as site clearing and grading, Coop added.
The board also approved an amendment to move forward ahead of schedule with a re-roofing project at Will C. Wood High School. The district was alerted to an 18 percent increase in roofing materials by its roofing subcontractor should they continue with the plan of performing the work next summer. The district will see a savings of about $70,000 by performing the repairs this summer.
