Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Middle School Is On Schedule

Deadline should be no problem for the new Cabe Middle School.

Gurdon Superintendent Bobby Smithson informed the Gurdon Rotary Club, Thursday, June 18, construction of the new school should be finished by July 15, and could be a bit sooner.

At this time, he said, getting the floor tile and carpet in place is all to be done for the inside of the building. The parking lot, though, is another matter.

Gravel is being hauled for the lot, which will be 300 feet long and 150 feet wide, he said. On the east end of the lot, 100 feet will be concrete for the buses. This, Smithson told the Rotarian, is because asphalt won't hold up to the rigors of buses turning around.

Before construction of the new middle school began, Smithson said, members of the Gurdon School Board toured other facilities, including Dierks, Centerpoint, Nashville and Lake Hamilton.

From the Centerpoint district, members "borrowed" the idea of having concrete panels above the hallways instead of acoustic ceiling tiles. In this manner, Smithson said, the halls become storm shelters during severe weather, while also providing space for the air conditioning units so the noise won't interfere with classes.

Recessed doors were borrowed from Lake Hamilton. With these doors not opening directly into the hall, there will be less chance for students to be struck by them.

In addition, the new CMS will not have squared corners. Instead, he said, all corners have been rounded off for safety's sake.

The new structure will also have two large computer labs and an IMPACT lab. Gurdon, he pointed out, was one of the first schools in the state to be funded for an IMPACT lab.

All the computers at the current GMS will be moved to the new school. Students will be taught keyboarding along with computer operations.

The new CMS, named in honor of the Cabe family, will also have a large workroom for teachers along with a lounge and restroom.

The new school cost $53 per square foot to build, Smithson said, whereas the Gurdon High School physical plant was constructed for $38 per square foot. He further added the going rate for construction is $65 per square foot.

But, he said, the board agreed not to cut corners with the new middle school. It will be officially dedicated sometime in August, with the date to be set later, and will be ready for the first day of the 1998-99 school year.

Out of gratitude for all the Cabe family and foundations have done for the Gurdon School District, Smithson said, the board voted to change the new school's name from Gurdon Middle School to Cabe Middle School. "Without their help it wouldn't have been possible," he said.

The Horace Cabe Foundation gave the district a grant for $200,000, while giving the Clark County Youth Development Center a grant for $150,000 to purchase the old middle school facility. The district also set money aside from its operating funds to help pay for the construction.

When the CMS project is done, there will be one major building left to construct on the site a new football stadium.

Smithson said he'd like to see this done before retiring in a few years. The dirt from the CMS parking lot will be used for the stadium, with some dirt work being done in the area.

The new middle school, he pointed out, has been built without any increase in millage. "It's a big plus to Gurdon not to have to pay any more taxes," Smithson told the club members.

But, turning back to the topic of a new football stadium, he said the district lost 40 students last year, which means a loss of about $160,000 in state turnback funds.

"We may have to go back to square one and ask the people what they want," he said. "If the board asks for a millage increase, it won't be any more than 2 mill. This would build a stadium and physical education building.

"We badly need a PE building with eight grades out there now."

Smithson admitted the district didn't work hard to pass the last millage increase it sought, and the millage issue failed.

Recently, the board has been working to get a new PE building at the Gurdon Primary School, but the low bid received was for $81 per square foot for a pre-fab metal building.

The district will work to get the subcontractors at CMS to build the structure at GPS, while the district acts as its own general contractor, he said.

"The students are happy at the new school (GHS)," he said. "The middle school teachers are ready to move to the new school."

The old GHS, which is the current GMS, is in poor condition, Smithson told the club. The outside of the building is the best part of it, as the rest is ready to fall in.