ROWVA weighing what to do with buildings

There were few surprises for the ROWVA District 208 school board on Jan. 18 when Scott Burge and Ed Barry of Farnsworth Group of Peoria presented a preliminary feasibility study.

The study, which was to cost no more than $8,850, covered ROWVA East Elementary in Altona, ROWVA West Elementary in Wataga and Central Elementary/ROWVA Jr. High School in Oneida, the three oldest buildings in the district which the board had toured in 2009. The study did not include the high school building which is almost 60 years old.

Moisture, mold, accessibility issues, life safety issues, boiler corrosion, antiquated electrical components and plumbing issues were all mentioned by Burge in his report of the three buildings.

Burge presented three scenarios for replacing the elementary buildings:

*Close the schools in Altona and Wataga, retain Oneida as the central campus by putting an addition on the south end of the Central Elementary building (former Oneida High School building).

*Close the schools in Altona and Wataga, demolish Central Elementary/ROWVA Jr. High building and replace it with a new building.

*Close the schools in Altona and Wataga, demolish most of the ROWVA Jr. High/Central Elementary building, but save the gymnasium area, extend a new building to the south and encapsulate the gym in the new addition.

For the rest of this story on the Jan. 18 ROWVA School Board meeting, see the Jan. 21 Galva News.