ResourcesBoard of Education Approves Funds to Rebuild Aurora Hills
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The APS Board of Education has approved a $5 million addition to the Aurora Hills Middle School bond project to rebuild the school.
As part of the original 2008 bond program, Aurora Hills was scheduled for a whole building remodel, with a project budget of $23.2 million. The school was built in 1972 as an “open-space school,” and has no classroom walls, doors or windows.
The opportunity to rebuild Aurora Hills is due to the current economic climate, which has resulted in more competitive bids on APS bond projects. In 2008, a full replacement of the school was estimated to cost $38.5 million. APS now estimates that the cost to replace Aurora Hills (based on construction in 2010) would be $28.2 million, or $5 million more than the current project budget.
Bids on the first six bond projects have been significantly under estimated costs, saving APS $8.6 million in the bond program budget. The APS Long Range Facilities Advisory Committee and Citizens Bond Oversight Committee both recommended that the Board of Education approve $5 million from the bond program savings to replace rather than remodel Aurora Hills.
Aurora Hills is one of only 10 middle schools in the state that offer an authorized, all-school International Baccalaureate-Middle Years Programme. APS can now build a brand new building focused on the interdisciplinary needs of the school’s IB-MYP Programme. While the new building will be located on the same site, it will be constructed farther away from the school’s current location on Mississippi Boulevard to improve student safety.
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to rebuild Aurora Hills. A new building will allow us to take our academic program to a whole new level and greatly benefit students and staff. Our new school will be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood and a point of pride for the entire community.”
-Jinger Haberer
Aurora Hills Middle School Principal
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