Wydown Middle School Project to Proceed

The Clayton Board of Education voted Wednesday to move forward with plans for the construction of the new Wydown Middle School. This vote overrode a recommendation by the city’s

Numerous Clayton residents attended a Feb. 3 workshop, during which the board discussed what changes should be made to the building's exterior.

On Wednesday, before presentations from Arcturis, SM Wilson and Neumann Monson, residents again made comments. Many focused on following the findings of the Plan Commission.

Jeanne Most, one attendee who spoke out, questioned the assertion by some members of the board that large amounts of light are conducive to student learning. Board members have spoken favorably about implementing bay windows and positioning the building in an effort to maximize the passage of daylight into the school.

“The intellectual dishonesty on display here is outrageous,” Most told the board.

After the public comment period, Drew Raasch from SM Wilson, John Mueller from Arcturis and Kevin Monson from Neumann Monson presented exterior design changes discussed at the earlier workshop. Base design changes directed by the board included changes to the pattern and color of brick on the building, changing cement board to brick with stone accents, and adding articulated stone cornices in addition to multiple other changes to the bay windows. The changes are expected to cost $413,158. In addition, the board voted on options for the size of the bay windows, parapets and side windows before approving the design as a whole.

Omri Praiss, one of the board directors, was in Des Moines, IA, at the time of the meeting and called into the meeting for the majority of the discussion. Although his vote did not count because he did not attend in person, he did make a statement.

“You have to make a decision," Praiss said. "There will always be a particular area that everyone doesn’t agree upon. Unless it’s a fundamental problem for delivering the highest quality education to our kids, it’s not necessary for consideration. I bow to the majority of the board on this issue, but I do move that we accept the design.”

As the board prepared for a final vote on acceptance, board director Brad Bernstein had a statement of his own to make. He expressed his own questions and hesitations with the current design, speaking about his fifth grade daughter, who is preparing to attend Wydown. He said he had spoken with residents and listened to their concerns and thoughts on the matter. With all this in mind, he said, he could not vote yes on this design at the moment.

“Someone told me, ‘You can erase a design, but you can’t erase a school,’” he said.

He asked the board to consider everything and ensure that this is the school they want to represent the future of their district before going forward.

Vice President of the board Jane Klamer responded by describing what she said had been an arduous process for the board in getting to this point. The limits of the location, design and their own timetable were put into context, as well as the initial disconnect from the community following the acceptance of Prop W.

“We have an overbuilt site, and I apologize for that,” Klamer said, addressing those in attendance. Despite these misgivings, she said, she thinks the design meets the needs of Clayton children and voted to go forward.

President of the board Sonny Buttar also stressed the long hours and months that had gone into preparing the design. She said the board has been closely involved in the process from the beginning and said it needs to move forward with the design so that it can focus more on updating curricula and fulfilling children’s needs within the school.

“This is a collective point we have all reached, and I believe we got it right,” she said before the vote. “Is it perfect? Of course not. But is it 85 percent, 90 percent right? I think it is.”

The final vote was 5-1 in favor of accepting the current design. Bernstein was the lone dissenting opinion. While there were groans in the audience following the acceptance, applause also rang out.

In other action, the board voted to accept Centene Corporation's $63,000 donation toward Clayton High School’s Centennial Plaza. In exchange, the company will receive private naming rights to the plaza for 10 years, after which it will have 60 days to renew the contract at its discretion.