District Planning Media Centers

— The School District will build new media centers at Elmdale and Smith elementary schools if the state agrees to split the cost.

Both media centers would cost about $2 million to build, said Gary Compton, assistant superintendent for support services.

Media centers are like libraries but with an emphasis on technology. The centers at Elmdale and Smith would be about 8,000 square feet and include computer labs and additional classroom space.

The media centers were among a number of proposed projects submitted to the state in February 2012 in the School District’s bid for partnership money. If the state approves those projects, it would provide 48 percent of the cost. The district would be responsible for the rest.

The state is expected to announce by May 1 which projects it will fund. About $60 million is projected to be available for projects statewide, but the amount depends on what the Legislature decides during the current session, said Charles Stein, director of public school facilities and transportation for the state Department of Education.

Plans call for adding the media centers on to the back of both schools, Compton said. The district filed large-scale development plans with the city for both schools on Thursday.

Michele Hutton, Elmdale’s principal, said the lighting in Elmdale’s current library is not good. A new media center would be a huge improvement.

“If a place is well lit and inviting, kids are going to want to dig in and read,” Hutton said. “It will provide more opportunities for our kids and our families to have a place to enjoy books together.”

The district officials gradually have been working to add media centers to its schools. The last ones constructed were at Westwood and Parson Hills elementary schools in 2010, said Rick Schaeffer, district spokesman.

If the state decides to chip in for the Elmdale and Smith media centers, the projects would be completed sometime during the next school year, Compton said.

Whether officials still would pursue the projects without state money is uncertain.

The media center is one of several improvements planned for Elmdale, which at 48 years is one of the oldest schools in the district.

A wellness center will be built at the school with a federal grant the district received last month. In addition, the district and city have applied jointly for a grant that would provide about 1,300 feet of sidewalk in the Elmdale neighborhood to increase safety for kids who walk to and from school.

“Elmdale is a wonderful school. It needs a little attention,” Compton said.

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