PENDLETON — At the South Madison school board’s request, Stair Associates has presented measures that could reduce the projected costs of renovating the current middle school. Despite its efforts to comply to the board’s goal of spending under $8 million, the outlined options will not make a significant difference in the bottom line.

The most sweeping difference would be to use a conventional heat pump system instead of a geothermal system to control the air temperature of the building. While that will decrease the upfront cost of the system (by $2 per square foot), there will be increased maintenance issues, required chemical treatments, and a life expectancy of 20 years.

Mike Gaskill, board member, asked what the difference in utility bills would be. Randy Stair responded that, temperatures being kept equal, the heat pump system would cost 50 cents more per square foot.

“So in four years, we would recoup the investment in the geothermal system,” Gaskill calculated.

Cheaper still in upfront costs would be rooftop units, but Stair cautioned the board on choosing that option.

“At that point, you get what you pay for,” he added. “I struggle to recommend that.”

The other major change offered was moving the administrative offices from their location in the original drawings. The board would like to have the offices in the north corner of the building to ensure that anyone entering the building from the main parking lot will first pass the office.

The cost-saving measure is to leave the offices where they are, which means the office personal will be unable to see the parking lot and people as they arrive and leave. For this option, a camera and buzzer system would be installed to allow office personnel to approve a visitor before allowing admittance into the school.

However, once inside the school, the visitor would have access to the greater portion of the building before arriving at the office to make their business known.

“It’s clear that the offices in the north corner are more secure,” said Dr. Bill Bolander, assistant superintendent.

These changes save at most $120,000 in the cost estimates of a K-6 building and the difference is negligible in the intermediate school and sixth-grade center. This measure combined with dividing up the old gymnasium into classroom space did bring the total down as much as $258,750 for the intermediate school option. However, in dividing up the gym, some usable space is lost and the board was informed that it would be difficult to transform that space into something usable later.

The board still requests input from the public on these matters and is set to reach a decision in early June.

In other school board news:

- Next year, the prices for school lunches and breakfasts will increase. Elementary lunches will increase from $1.65 to $1.75, and secondary lunches will increase from $1.70 to $1.85. All breakfasts will increase from $1 to $1.25. The last price increase was in 2005.

- The all-day kindergarten fee will decrease next year due to the increase in the state kindergarten grant. Last year, the cost was $2,430, but next year the approximate cost will be $1,630. The exact figure will depend on the amount of the state grant and the number of enrollees.