A concrete solution to our classroom crunch?

A Times Editorial
Published October 23, 2005

They are faced with the challenge of building new schools to keep pace with enrollment growth and the mandates of Florida's class-size reduction laws. They have limited funds and volumes of government red tape to overcome, yet the prices of construction materials and property ratchet up relentlessly with each day's delay.

With such daunting demands, it's not surprising if school system leaders sometimes gaze heavenward in search of solutions.

On a recent afternoon, a possible answer to their prayers dropped from above as a group of Citrus and Hernando school district officials blinked in amazement. An enormous crane gently lowered segments of concrete classrooms onto a pair of slabs at the Star Education Center in Brooksville. At 80,000 pounds each, these concrete rooms seem to defy the term portable, yet they are exactly that - built at Royal Concrete Concepts' factory in Palm Beach County and hauled by truck to their new homes.

Company officials touted the advantages of their product to the curious onlookers, including the Citrus County school contingent on hand to see the delivery of their neighbor's new purchase.

School Board member Bill Murray and Mike Mullen, executive director of support services, had traveled earlier to RCC's factory. Now, they joined their Hernando counterparts in poking around two of the concrete classrooms. By all accounts, they liked what they saw and heard.

When the two segments are set together, they form a 24-by-40-foot classroom made of 6- inch thick walls and 8-inch floors and ceilings. Air-conditioning units, utility fixtures, floor tiles, interior walls and drop ceilings already are installed. Some units have restrooms in place. All that needs to be done is attach the utilities and other site modifications.

Company officials say the rooms meet state building codes and are rated to withstand 195-mph winds. Districts can order models with or without windows. They meet ADA codes, and since they sit on a slab, there are no added costs for building ramps or stairs. Price, in fact, is one of the biggest selling points of the "concreteable," as the company calls it. The Hernando classrooms cost about $72,000 each, or about $74 a square foot. Mullen said conventional construction for schools is roughly $160 a square foot.

Factor in other costs, such as property. These units are built to be stacked for two-story structures (such as schools the company has built in Broward County), meaning smaller campuses.

Then there is the time element. Today, it takes more than two years to build a school, and the meter is running all that time. The concrete portables take 21 days from placing the order to delivery. Broward County, for example, had a two-story, 24,000-square-foot school building with 22 classrooms, teacher planning rooms, an elevator and other amenities up and running within 12 weeks.

Company officials at the Hernando site noted that RCC is now building larger rooms, such as cafeterias and gyms, so they can construct entire campuses and not just additional wings of classrooms. The Indian River school system is the first in the state to place such an order with them.

Citrus officials are visiting other districts that have these units operating to see what their experiences have been, and they will report to the School Board soon on their factfinding missions.

Superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel last week said the concept is a valid option and could be the answer to overcrowding at, for example, the Lecanto school complex. With the district planning on a lot of new construction in Citrus Springs, these concrete classrooms are getting careful scrutiny.

At least 13 school districts around the state are placing orders, as are the military and hurricane-ravaged communities, said RCC officials, who noted that they are building a factory in Okeechobee to try to keep up with demand.

Sometimes, things can sound too good to be true, and a school that costs half as much as traditional building yet lasts longer and can be built in a fraction of the time falls into that category. Citrus officials are taking the right approach, getting the details and visiting districts that have taken the plunge.

But the early indications are promising for this new building methodology. If nothing else, it is the first good news on the building front for school officials.