OAK PARK : Red Oak School Costs Scaled Back

Architects for Red Oak Elementary School, which has been plagued by construction delays, have come up with a scaled-down version of the project’s final phase that could shave building costs by almost $228,000.

In a presentation Tuesday night before the Oak Park school board, the architects displayed new blueprints calling for a modified school entryway and a less dramatic skylight for the library.

“The function and size of the building has not changed,” said Jim Stinson, an architect with the Agoura Hills firm of Porter, Stinson, Miller. “We are putting every effort into satisfying the community.”

Stinson produced a list of 29 modifications that would save an estimated $227,759. The savings range from $100 by redesigning the library’s air-distribution system to $46,000 by covering the school in something other than stucco.

Other items on the list included saving $4,100 by using battery-operated clocks instead of a master clock system, saving $8,000 by simplifying the ceiling in the library and multipurpose room, and saving $7,500 by simplifying the covered eating shelter.

In sharp contrast to last week’s board meeting where parents berated the district for the construction delays, there appeared to be few objections to the scaled-down version of the $4.5-million school.