The $40M upgrades for a Rochester school are far from glamorous, but they are needed

Feb. 27—ROCHESTER — Although it won't necessarily include a lot of changes that just anyone can see, Kellogg Middle School is getting ready to undergo a large-scale renovation project to the tune of more than $40 million.

The project is set to span two years, beginning in the summer of 2024 and continuing in the summer of 2025. A January 2023 report from a contractor for Rochester Public Schools outlined various needs in the building.

"We would recommend moving forward with a project that includes replacement of the main mechanical and electrical systems and equipment along with any general work that would be required to support these improvements, as well as addressing some of the more critical interior and exterior deteriorated conditions," the report reads.

In other words, even though the upgrades may be needed, they're far from glamorous. But they are expensive. The same report estimated the cost of the needed upgrades to Kellogg Middle School at $40.4 million.

The largest cost contributing to that total will be replacing the school's ventilation and heating systems, costing $10.6 million. The project also calls for a full roof replacement at $1.27 million, and the replacement of the building's lighting and lighting controls at $2 million.

Those larger upgrades will be accompanied by a myriad of less-expensive ones, but which add up to substantial costs: carpet replacement, new lockers, and new flooring in sections of the building, among others.

The report also listed the district's central office, the Edison Building, as needing upgrades to its indoor air quality system. Although the upgrades to the Edison Building were listed as costing only $8.9 million, the total for both projects far exceeded the $30 million allotted by the district.

Because the cost exceeded the funds set aside for the projects, RPS decided to delay the upgrades to the Edison Building in favor of pursuing the changes at Kellogg. The district also decided to delay any improvements to the former Friedell Middle School building in lieu of putting more resources toward Kellogg.

In July, the school board approved $41.8 million in long-term facilities maintenance funding for Kellogg. According to district documentation at the time, LTFM funding comes from local property taxes, state aid, and the issuance of facilities maintenance bonds.

Kellogg Middle School was built in 1961. According to the 2023 report, the building was "expanded in 1988 with an addition that included the auditorium." Then in 2004, the district upgraded the school's mechanical indoor air quality system.

The project at Kellogg comes during

a similar project at John Marshall High School.

Although the high school's project also includes many behind-the-wall upgrades, the project also provided a bit of a facelift for John Marshall. It included the replacement of the

high school's maroon exterior paneling

with new black siding.

Like the Kellogg renovation, the price tag for the upgrades to John Marshall came at a hefty price tag. At the time, it was estimated to cost $45 million. The two projects will overlap this summer as John Marshall is completed and Kellogg gets underway.

At more than $40 million, the cost of the upgrades to each school was more than the cost to build some of the district's most recent buildings. Following the 2019 referendum, the district built Overland Elementary, and demolished and then rebuilt both Bishop and Longfellow elementary schools. The cost for each of those projects was approximately $32 million.

But not all school buildings are created equal. At 362,000 square feet, John Marshall is more than twice as large as Kellogg Middle School and more than three times the size of Overland Elementary.

So if it costs $40-plus million to repair the middle school, how much more would it cost to build a new building outright? The most recent estimate the school district received for constructing a new school of Kellogg's size was roughly $80 million.

"I wanted to make sure we weren't going to spend more than 60% of what it would cost to rebuild Kellogg," RPS Chief Administrative Officer John Carlson said. "We're coming in at that 50% to 55% of what a new replacement building would cost."