The Florida legislature has given the state education department until next spring to come up with a prototype elementary school plan. Here are some likely characteristics of the prototype:
- The school’s capacity would be 500 students.
- Construction would cost about $2.5 million, according to lowest cost estimates. In 1996, the average new Florida elementary school was build for 774 students and cost $8.3 million to construct.
- The school would reduce space by forgoing a kitchen. Meals would be prepared at a satellite facility.
- The size of the library would be reduced by putting technology in every classroom instead of in a common area.
- Classrooms would acconnodate 25 students and measure about 800 square feet, compared with a rough average of 1,000 square feet in other Florida elementary schools.
- Use of modular construction plan would allow for the easy addition of permanent classrooms.
SOURCE: Florida Department of Education.
