Cheney Public Schools selects ALSC as facilities architect

After a process that included extensive interviews with prospective firms, the Cheney School Board at its April 19 meeting unanimously approved the selection of ALSC Architects to head up the design work for its upcoming school facilities expansion and renovation projects.

Superintendent Rob Roettger said there were a number of qualified firms that applied for the work, of which the district's selection committee narrowed down the choices to two: ALSC and Design West. Design West was the firm that worked with the district on preliminary scope of design for the $52 million construction bond that passed in February.

Roettger said the committee's decision to recommend ALSC was based on their local construction market experience, ability to staff for the project and experience in the general contractor/construction manager form of project work the district has elected to use.

ALSC has worked with Central Valley School District on projects such as modernization and expansion of Evergreen Middle School and Sunrise Elementary School, and locally at Eastern Washington University on the renovation of Senior Hall and John F. Kennedy Library, along with the construction of the snyamncut residence hall.

Roettger praised the work Design West did for the district on the bond.

"In the end, we just felt like ALSC Architects was the group of architects we wanted to work with on this project moving forward," he added.

"There was a lot of thought and consideration in the one we chose," Director Suzanne Dolle said of the process the selection committee undertook.

In a update, the district's director of finance, Kassidy Probert, said enrollment was down 11 full-time equivalent students this month, dropping from a high water mark for the year of 4,505 FTEs in March to 4,494 in April. Probert said this drop was normal for this time of year and was across the board at most schools - the exception being Cheney Middle School which saw an increase of eight students.

"That's a pretty big jump for one school in April," Probert said.

Expenses through April were at 56.9 percent of budget, compared to 57.45 percent at this time in 2016. Revenues were at 56.46, roughly the same as last year, something Probert again said was normal and on track to the district's end of year budget projections.

In new business, the board held first readings on two policies. The first regarding nonresident students was being revised to align with current Revised Code of Washington standards and recommendations from the Washington State School Directors Association, Associate Superintendent Sean Dotson told the board.

Dotson said some of the WSSDA recommendations were tweaked to be more specific to the district's situation, mostly through eliminating language already contained in other policies.

The second is a new policy regarding teacher conflict of interests, something Dotson said was also recommended by WSSDA. Other districts incorporate such a policy, which is geared to preventing teachers from using their position within the district to promote other revenue sources, such as private lessons, they may be engaged in outside.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].