Rusk ISD to build $4.3 million 'nest' for the Eagles
New gymnasium to feature hospitality room, practice facility and will seat 1,200
BY GLORIA JENNINGS

Rusk High School students will be using a new gym by next year's basketball season.

The school board voted Thursday evening to fund the $4,358,458 school gym. The new facility should be ready for district play in November 2008.

"We are really funding a gym and a half," said Superintendent Dr. Jim Largent. The plans for the new gym include the new almost 1,200 seat gym, plus a practice gym with wooden flooring at the rear of the building.

The practice gym will only be half a court but there will be enough space at the rear to finish the practice gym into a full-size regulation gym in the future.

There will be no scoreboard at the practice gym and there will not be enough room for spectators.

The actual cost of the new gym itself will be $3,688,103. Cost of the practice gym will be $181,834. The gym will include a stairway and an elevator.

A parking lot for approximately 15 cars will add another $58,000 to the construction budget.

Dr. Largent said visiting buses can be parked in the lot and those students can go directly to the bus without having to go back through the gym.

Another $77,166 will go toward the construction of a hospitality room in the lobby area above the restrooms. "This will be an area that we will use for coaches and referees for tournaments and when we host playoff games," Dr. Largent said. "If you think you are going to want the hospitality room, you need to do it now, because you will never go back and build it," he added.

The guaranteed maximum price of the project will be $4,005,103. The district will add architect fees of $278,355 and Rusk ISD fees of $75,000.

Cost of the project will be paid through building fund monies and the district will not have to borrow money to finance its cost.

Meeting with the board were Malcom McKinley, architect with Goodwin Lasiter of Lufkin; and Stephen Berry of Berry Clay, contractor for the project in Rusk.

In another matter, Dr. Largent said the owner of property adjacent to the primary campus had not accepted a price offered by Rusk ISD to purchase the property.

A counter offer had been made by the owner and the school district has notified him that the offer is not acceptable.

Oncor will replace electrical poles on the junior high campus.

Attending the meeting were David Fulton, president; Dr. Anthony Holcomb, vice-president; Frances Long, secretary; and Roy Cavazoz, Rodney Hugghins and Britt Patterson. Absent was Mike Ross.