District 115 Begins Architect Selection Process For YHS Expansion

Yorkville officials hope results from a questionnaire which will be given to prospective architectural firms will help them determine the best one for the expansion and remodeling project.

During during Monday's Organizational Oversight Committee meeting at the high school, members reviewed the questionnaire.

District 115 Superintendent Scott Wakeley said school officials would like to use a local firm.

“We don’t want someone from Colorado saying, ‘We want to be your architect,’ and then when we need somebody a year from now they’re nowhere to be found,” Wakeley said.

Brian Debolt, the district’s director of building and grounds, said officials also want to work with a firm that has specifically done additions on schools.

“We could have 2,000 people in here on any given day and have construction going on,” he said.

It likely will be important to maintain a good educational environment throughout construction.

“Schools are different animals, especially when you’re dealing with teachers trying to teach and students,” Wakeley said.

Officials have been discussing overcrowding for months, instituting a one-way policy in some stairways at the high school last academic year.

About 1,130 students (sophomores through seniors) last academic year attended the high school, which is designed to hold 1,200. Across the street, 398 freshmen attended, which has an estimated capacity of 450.

Officials hope the questionnaire will help them narrow down the applicants for architects.

“We’re looking at how we can we take this information and condense it down into 10 firms that we can say, ‘OK, you’re the ones we’ve selected’ out of the 50 or whatever we get back,” Wakeley said.