Charter school lands money for new gym

EDWARDS — The 288 students at Eagle County Charter Academy regularly meet in the cramped “Hawk Room” for school assemblies.

This is where they put on school plays, perform music, hold parent meetings, play Bingo — all your basic school stuff.

This room, however, was only designed to hold half that many kids, and school leaders are worried about safety when squeezing more than 300 people at times into the tiny room. That’s one of many reasons they’re pleased to see the Eagle County Board of Education approve $2.5 million to help the school build a new community building.

The money will come from certificates of participation, which function basically like loans, chief financial officer Phil Onofrio said. Money for the community building won’t come from the bond issue approved last November, and it won’t come from the district’s reserves.

“We’re obviously thrilled to have some financial support,” said Sarah Smith Hymes, president of the Eagle County Charter Academy board of directors. “We pay for all our school buildings ourselves. We have mortgages on those and we can’t afford to have a common building.”

The building

The new community building would be about 10,700 square feet and be located on the north side of the charter academy campus. Much of that space would be taken up by a 7,000-square-foot gymnasium with bleacher seating for 320 people.

There would also be an elevated stage for theater performances, two locker rooms, a mechanical room, storage space and an entry foyer.

School leaders say its important to have a gym so kids can still have recess and participate in physical education classes on snowy days.

“There’s no way for kids to let off steam when the weather is bad,” Hymes said.

The new building will also give the school a sense of permanence— with all the classes held in modular trailers, there’s sometimes a feeling that the school won’t always be there, Hymes said.

Funding

As a charter school, the families and school board are always at a fever pitch with fundraising. However, this is the kind of project that could never be funded by normal fundraising alone, Hymes said.

The community building was at one point included on last year’s bond question, but was taken off before it went voters to improve its chances of passing.

Hymes said the school will still have to do a lot of fundraising for the community building. The estimated cost for the project is a little over $3 million — a good deal more than what the school district is offering.

Staff Writer Matt Terrell can be reached at 748-2955 or mterrell@vaildaily.com.