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CTK School Rebuild and Remodel
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Our Parish Building Fund: Its Past, Present & Future
February, 2001
A very special word of congratulations and thanks is due to our school families along with all our parishioners who have been so consistent and generous toward our parish building fund which isessential to our parish, our school and our future. One piece of that fund has been the use of a "building fund line" on our Sunday collection envelopes but the fund is much more thanthat. Let me briefly review what wehave accomplished, how we have done it and what lies before us.
What we have accomplished: In 1997, wecompleted a new storage facility, retrofitting our gym, expanding our parishhall with four break-out rooms, refurbishing our gym bathrooms and expandingour religious education offices. The cost came to 838,428. In 1999, wecompleted and moved into our new "junior high" school wing. The cost came to 991,928. Of that 491,928 was paid directly by ourparish; the additional 500,000 came as a loan from the parish which the schoolcommitted to repay at 50,000 a year over the next ten years. Of that 50,000 each year, 35,000 comes by use of the annual parish subsidy to the school and 15,000 comes from use ofSCRIP by school families. In 2000 we moved in our newly rebuilt school, before the fire we had budgeted for a 500,000 remodel of which the school would provide half and the parish would provide half. Instead we have an excellent rebuilt school at a cost of 2,672,400. The insurance company provided 2,092,467, the parish 350,000 and the school 191,744; an additional 15,632 came from interest on the insurance money, and 22,500 from the Diocese covering the deductible.
How we have done it: (1) Our number one source of funding toward our parish building fund has been direct withdrawals from ordinary parish income, made possible by holding staffing and expenditures to a reasonable minimum; (2) use of parish savings accumulated over the previous ten years; (3) proceeds from the "building fund" designation on our Sunday collection envelopes; (4) direct contributions to our building fund byindividuals and groups especially after the school fire and also in memory ofMsgr Wade and Margo Schorno; (5) the 50,000 per year repayment of the new wingloan through returned parish subsidy and school family use of SCRIP (as of12/21/00 200,000 remains owed); (6) 12,000 per year contributed from ourReligious Education families.
What lies ahead: Our Parish Council is now researching and reviewing that last stage of our Master Plan adopted in 1995; the final step was to be the remodel of our Adult Ministry Center (former convent). The Council is weighing theoptions of either a remodel or a total rebuild of the center, along with aproposal for an additional facility to meet expanding Youth Ministry, AdultEducation as well as parish and school needs. The possible options appear to be:
Presently the Parish Council is doing a careful needs assessment and also researchingwhat additional buildings our site can sustain as well as possible costs andbenefits.
What lies before us: (What's with theBuilding Fund now) Contributing to our parish building fund continues sincefuture costs will obviously be considerable. We continue to do so by (1) "tightening our belts" administratively to be able to set aside somewhere between 10%-20% of our annualparish income; (2) soliciting and accepting individual and group donationstoward our parish building fund (these remain non-assessed or not taxed byDiocesan guidelines); (3) receiving 50,000 per year (35,000 of annual parishsubsidy and 15,000 from use of SCRIP) from school repayment of parish loan forthe "new wing".
At the same time we have discontinuedthe Sunday envelopes' designation of "building fund." We feel that this is only being fair to the Diocese. At this time while we continue to build up our building fund for future expenditures we have managed to meet all our current expenses. The 12%Diocesan assessment we have been "escaping" by this separatedesignation goes to Diocesan projects on behalf of schools and parishes muchneedier than we are.
Thank you so much to our school familiesfor your support and for your continued generosity toward the future of ourparish and of our school. We have aparish and school of which we can be very proud and you have all helped to makeit and our future possible. [February 2001]
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September 17, 2000
On Saturday, September 9th, our Parish community gathered to give thanks forthe hard work that went into rebuilding our school. Mass was followed by theblessing and dedication of this marvelous new facility to the educationalprograms for our students.
Standing there on that warm, sunny bright day, it would be difficult toremember the many cold, damp and dreary days back in January and February whenthe carpenters were erecting the wood frame and the new footings were being dugin the muddy basement. When work fell behind due to the rainy days during theweek, construction continued on Saturdays to make up for the lost time and tokeep us on schedule. To these tradespersons and those that followed, we owe agreat debt of gratitude.
Even before we could start the demolition work, we had to prepare two sets ofdetailed cost estimates: one for the reconstruction of the building per theexisting design and a second one for the new plan. The first was needed tonegotiate a reasonable settlement with the Insurance Carrier, and the second toverify the costs to build what we really wanted.
The Architect and his Consultants had many meetings with the school staff inorder to produce the best building we could while using the existing footprint.This was followed by a series of three presentations to the Diocesan BuildingCommittee to gain their approval, and more reviews by the City BuildingDepartment. The end result is a plan far superior to any we could have achievedwith an incremental remodeling of the existing spaces.
The Building Project Committee met with the Contractor, the Architect, and theSchool Staff every two weeks during the construction to ensure that the workwas proceeding satisfactorily. Decisions were made promptly and submittals wereprocessed. Numerous additional improvements were incorporated, change orderswere reviewed, and billings were approved.
As with any project of this magnitude, there were a number of super-heroes --they have the satisfaction of knowing that we faced a series of enormouschallenges with three high hurdles: have the building ready for occupancy byLabor Day, keep the project within the budget committed to many months earlier,and produce the highest quality facility possible, given the many constraints.Thousands of hours were volunteered, and many of us were working well beyondour normal responsibilities. The results speak for themselves.
Compliments have been received from the faculty, the staff, and the manyvisitors who have now seen the efficient layout and the beautiful modern decorof the interior spaces. The Parish now has an excellent facility that shouldserve us well for many years to come.
On behalf of the Building Project Committee, I would like to take thisopportunity to thank all those whose contributions helped make this achievementpossible.
Jack Prosek
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September 10, 2000
Like the proverbial “phoenix rising from the ashes”, this weekend Christ theKing community celebrates the blessing and opening of our newly rebuiltschool. On Saturday, May 15, 1999, flames engulfed the building that hadhoused our school, sheltered our students and produced countless fond memoriessince its doors first opened in 1961. At the sight of the burnt out shell therewas shock and sadness mixed with relief and gratitude that no one was injured.Over the fifteen months since that day an amazing coming together of talents,skills, generosity, financial support and long hours of hard work has produceda newly rebuilt school with practical design, state of the art technology, anda delightful setting for education and community. It is a school, alreadycomplemented by our new wing, completed in 1998, of which we can be justlyproud.
After this weekend’s Saturday evening Mass there will be a blessing of thenew building. An open house and refreshments will follow each of our masses.During all our weekend liturgies we celebrate with pictures and memories thehistory and future of our parish school.
Your commitment and generosity as parishioners is the number one reason forwhat we celebrate today and for the school year we begin this Monday. Fireinsurance funds for rebuilding (1.9 million of 2.65 million) and insurancereimbursement for the set up and operation in modulars for a full school yearwas an important component; the skill of architects (Clay Haberman and JohnsonLyman Architects), the competence and responsiveness of Overra Construction(with great help from Larry Etcheverry, Kevin Smith and Paul Buccellato), thelong hours volunteered by our building project committee (Bill Schalich, JackProsek, Carla Evans, Cindy Bustamante, Bob Brasiel and Athena Manning) and thespecial consultants (Sharon Duffy, Gloria Pearce, VBN Architects, as well asDiocesan staff and officials) were all essential ingredients. The on the groundwork of John Hatch and Jim and Jessie Neu, and especially the cooperation offaculty, staff and school families through a high pressure year of conducting a"portable school" as well as the detailed planning and constantadjusting was indispensable. Then, there are five great women I must publicallysingle out for special service far beyond what their job descriptions andresponsibilities would demand: Sr. Carmel Garcia, Haleen Armijo, Debbie Wilson,Mary Lou Saunders and Jeanne Bucci.
But from 1961 to today, it is the parish community that has been the numberone reason we are able to have a school and accomplish all we now celebrate.Your personal and moral support, your regular financial contributions, yourexceptional support of our building fund and fundraising events, your volunteerhours and participation in community life have made our school (and much, muchmore) possible.
When you stop to think about it – parish school, religious edministry to 1,000 public school youngsters, youth ministry to teens thatincludes outreach to San Francisco, Yakima and Gallup, a daily front doorministry to countless needy individuals and families, adult learning aroundspirituality, scripture and theology, continuing small church communities,ministry to bereaved and shut-ins, social justice ministry from Habitat forHumanity to a death penalty moratorium, and daily liturgies and weekend massesfor well over 3,500 participants - when you stop to think about it, thevitality, energy and generosity of our parish community (of you!) is trulyamazing!
I hope you are delighted with the new school we see today. I thank you andcompliment you. Be sure to compliment and thank yourselves and one another!
Brian T. Joyce
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August 6, 2000
CTK School Rebuild & Remodel
Building Project Update
On July 22nd all the desks, boxes of books and supplies, and other materialsneeded for the school to operate were moved out of the modular buildings andinto the new space.
We know you are anxious to see it, but please don't rush over just yet --WAIT a few more weeks. There is much more work yet to be done to finish theconstruction and organize everything else for the timely opening of the newschool year on Monday, September 11th.
Dedication of the newly rebuilt school will be held after the 5:00 pmMass on Saturday, September 9th, and there will be an Open House on Sunday,September 10th. This will be your best chance to see the results of yourefforts!
As to progress, the exterior of the building has been weather resistant forthree months now, and the doors are installed and locked. On the interior,walls, ceiling and floor coverings have been installed. Casework and otheraccessories are being completed. Computer desks are everywhere. Except for theclock/bell system, all the new plumbing, HVAC and electrical systems have beeninstalled and are operating. And, of course, the new fire sprinklers are readyto protect this valuable property.
The "art glass" is a spectacular addition made by the School.Final touches will include some landscaping and odds and ends throughout.
During the next four weeks there will be a lot of other activity on thecampus as the temporary modular buildings that have served us well housing theschool for the last year are moved out. Then we will be restoring the frontlawn and slurry sealing and restriping the parking lot in front of the school.
During much of this period it will be necessary to prohibit all weekdayparking in the lot in front of the school AND along the roadway between theMinistry Center (old convent) and the Church out to Brandon Road.
We regret any inconvenience that this will cause for some, but it isnecessary in order to perform the work and for the SAFETY OF ALL!
* * *
July 30, 2000
W're moving in! This week (July 24th) we began the physical move into ournewly rebuilt school. Portable classrooms and offices will be moving off ourproperty soon. Dedication and blessing of the new school is scheduledfor Saturday, September 9th (during and after the 5:00 pm Mass) with open houseafter all the masses on Sunday, September 10th and the first day of school onMonday, September 11th!
* * *
June 25, 2000
Our parish school rebuild is coming along right onschedule. We can be proud of ourselvesas a parish community for the support and leadership we share with ourschool. Church parish subsidy ($35,000), monthly collections ($23,000) andparish building fund ($350,000 this year) are three major financial ways weshow that support. Our participation in the parish festival (net $36,128) and auction (net $103,438), of which 90% goes to school support, is another way. Butit’s important to recognize that the school community itself, beyond tuitionand through its P.T.G. makes a major effort at necessary fund raising. Holiday wrapping sales in the fall netted $13,733; “Paver” sales this spring generated $48,000 (307 pavers) whichrepresents $42,000 after expenses; the Scrip committee (coordinated by Sue andJim Tasa) from last May to April 30 sold $1,120,635 in paper scrip and expectsto sell another $600,000 in E Scrip during the same period; net profit to the school will be approximately$68,000. In addition the Development Committee obtained funds from three private foundations for a total of $84,500 which will completely fund the computer pods in each classroom.The committee also continued the “grandparent challenge” which raised $15,000 to match a very generousgrandparent’s donation of $15,000. They are also currently in the process of securing funds for the equipment and furnishings of the school’s new Media Center, submitting a grant proposal fora new play ground structure and identifying school families whose employers (such as B of A, A T & T, Wells Fargo,Pac Bell, PG & E and Chevron) offer a gift matching program. It takes a lot of hard work and good willnot only to rebuild a school but to keep one running well. A big congratulations to PTG president PatDodson and the many PTG volunteers who serve us so well. Above and beyond thisyears school rebuild (construction cost is 2.6 million) the projected 2000/2001budget figure for operation our school is $1,369,838; the basic tuition rate for one child is $3,340; $5,880 fortwo children and $7,050 for three.
* * *
June 11, 2000
The rebuild of our parish school isright on schedule. Thanks to the cooperation of Overaa Construction, of ClayHaberman and Lyman Johnson Architects, and of our own parish building committeeand school staff we are very much on target when it come to costs (2.6 millionwith 1.7 million coming from insurance; 350,000 from our parish building fund,and additional monies from parish school fund, designated school fire fund,Msgr. Wade memorial gifts, Festival funds and proceeds from Pavers). Someadditional costs beyond basic construction will arise from playground gradingand equipment, concrete work and landscaping. We are also looking good when itcomes to our timetable (hoped for construction completion date is July 21st).Once the construction is complete it will take several weeks and much hard workby our school staff along with professional mover to relocate from portables tonew school, plus time to remove portables, restore lawn, take down temporarypower lines and ready the upper parking lot. We plan to have a blessing anddedication of the new school after the 5:00 pm mass on Saturday September 9th,open house after all the masses on September 10th and first day of school onMonday September 11th. Your support and generosity have been awesome.
* * *
May 21, 2000
On last Monday we observedan anniversary, which last year coincided with the Saturday morning of ourannual Parish Festival. One year ago on May 15th our school burned down. On theanniversary of the fire our school community celebrated a service ofremembrance and thanksgiving. All the construction workers, architects,building committees and planners were invited. We gave thanks once again thatno one had been hurt and that while we appreciate our buildings and treasureour memories, our values put people and faith way ahead of facilities; wecelebrated the way our community, neighbors and all of you here stepped up andcooperated to maintain a quality school in a difficult year and plan anddevelop a beautiful replacement in record time. We are very much on scheduleand hope to dedicate our new school building on Sunday, September 10th and openfor the first day of school on September 11th. Your continued generosity andsupport makes all this possible!
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March 24, 2000
PROJECT COMMITTEE UPDATE
Demolition of the original 1961 vintage school building down to the first floorlevel was completed in early January. Meanwhile, the Contractor had alreadystarted work on reinforcing the foundations. Despite the unusually frequentrains, the wood frame was erected over the next two months, and now that wehave sunshine, the roofing work has started. The new windows have beeninstalled, and the exterior stucco and interior partitions are about to start.Most of the advance paperwork necessary to get the proper materials on site hasbeen completed.
Working within the constraint of using the original building footprint for theexterior, the architect and engineers for the rebuild and remodel project havetaken full advantage of the opportunity to completely redesign the interiorlayout for the main level. Classroom sizes have been increased by incorporatingthe back hallway space, the library has been expanded to include a computer labsized for an entire class, and the administrative and support spaces have beenreorganized into an efficient plan. All of this will be supported by newmechanical and electrical systems. Thus we are accomplishing all that we onlyhad dreamed of some five years earlier, when the decision was made to build thenew west wing and then remodel the interior.
When the current project is completed during the summer months, we will have anup to date technology system in a fully modern building. Much remains to bedone, but we are on schedule for our planned completion. The committee meetswith the Contractor biweekly to coordinate the numerous details involved forthis complex undertaking.
Financially, we have negotiated a reasonable settlement with the insurancecarrier, and they have already deposited 70% of that sum in our buildingaccount with the Diocese. The balance of those funds will be forthcoming as thenew construction is completed. The Parish funds that had been allocated forschool renovation work also will be expended. With the additional fund-raisingefforts underway, and using school savings, we should be able to pay all thesecosts without incurring a substantial debt.
The Building Project Committee is grateful for the ongoing support from theschool staff and many other parishioners for this effort. A big thank you isdue to all parishioners who continue to support our Parish Building Fund!
* * *
December 26, 1999
Once we're past theholidays and more parishioners are around I'll give a much more detailed reporton the future of our school rebuild and parish building fund. During the weekof December 13th we conducted a thorough asbestos abatement of our burnt outschool building; during the week of December 20th we began to demolish thebuilding, down to but not including the foundation. Right now we have notreached a final figure with the insurance company. Presently it looks likeapproximately $750,000 stands between our projected redesign budget figure andthe proposed insurance replacement figure. We are still in conversation withthe insurance company and exploring how we can make up the difference throughour parish building fund, school fire funds and other sources. Our hope is tohave a rebuilt and redesigned school building on the same "footprint"by next September.
* * *
October 17, 1999
The aftermath of the school fire and plans forrestoration continue to be a time-consuming concern. To keep you up to dateI want to share with you as much as I know right now about the financialoutlook. Thanks to the hard work of Larry Etchverry, a parishioner andrepresentative of Overra Construction, along with Clay Haberman, parishionerand architect with Johnson Lyman, and our school fire building committee, wefinally have some specific figures to project from our point of view;naturally, the insurance company will soon be coming in with its figures andits own viewpoint. We project the cost to restore the school building "asit was" and up to current code to be $2,101,917; since we had alreadymoved three grades out of the building and designed a remodel of the building,our intention is not to restore the building "as it was" but toinclude a redesign using the same overall area and foundation. Our projectedpricing for that "rebuild and remodel" is $2,607,238. The differencebetween the two figures would have to come from our parish building fund.These, of course, are our preliminary figures and the insurance companywill be submitting its figures in a few days. A lower settlement figure fromthe insurance carrier could make the difference and cost to be born by theparish considerably larger. The next few weeks should give us a more definiteanswer.
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September 19, 1999
Time for another update "after the schoolfire." We opened up to a new school year on September 1 in our new"portable school", thanks to an enormous amount of work and a busysummer for Sr. Carmel and her staff. It may not look like a lot is going ontoward the rebuilding of our school, but there have been many meetings anddiscussions, and some real progress throughout the summer. Right now we havetwo major tasks: one is progressing well; the other is moving very slowly. Onthe one hand we are developing the design for our restored school with a newinterior space plan on the same basic exterior area. After considerableconsultation and work, this design is moving well along and will be presentedto the Diocesan Building Committee this Tuesday. The second task is to arrivewith the insurance carrier at the scope and budget for required repairs;in other words, what exactly will the insurance be responsible for. We have ourarchitect and contractors at work on that, and the insurance carrier hasenlisted two consulting firms to give their assessment. The assessment andrequirements by the City will an important factor. Our building committee hasset the following "milestones" for our general timeline. We realizethat we may slip a bit behind schedule, but we believe that time spent now inreaching a fair settlement with the insurance carrier is time well spent.
"Major Milestones" on our timeline:
The possible roadblocks ormajor delays that we forsee are two: the insurance claims process may takeconsiderably longer than we anticipate; the cost of the "redesigned"school could far exceed the amount of insurance settlement plus the parishbuilding funds available.
Here is a brief recap of our building fund situation inround figures. Since we began our four phase building project (rebuilding ofhall and gym, building of new school wing, remodel of existing school, andremodel of adult ministry center) we have raised 2.1 million dollars and havecompleted the first two of the four phases. The school fire in May undid ourplans and budget to remodel the school building. Now the rebuilding of theschool and the remodeling of the adult ministry center lie before us. The gymand hall remodel ran $800,00, the new school wing cost 1.1 million; wepresently have approximately $330,000 available in our building fund. Yourcontinued donations to the building fund are a great help for our future.
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August 22, 1999
At long last we’ve received the official fire investigation report on the causeof the school fire. We received a nine page report, but the final conclusion isthat "the fire was accidental in nature. This fire was most likelycaused by the shorting of electrical wiring or other elements contained in ornear the overhead light fixtures located immediately above the area oforigin." We continue to work on both the set up of portables for thecoming school year and the planning of the future repair of the school buildingon the same site as before with some interior redesign. Discussion between theFire Insurance Company, their consultants and our architect and our consultantscontinue over the exact scope of work that insurance will cover. The coveragehas been very good up to now, but we know that eventual replacement will costus a considerable amount. Your ongoing contributions labeled "buildingfund" will help us with that as well as the many individual donationsspecified for the "school fire" fund. A special thank you is due toour CYO Basketball Camp led by Tim Danz, Pat Ertola and Dave See. Besidesproviding a great week for our youngsters, they raised $2,450 which CYO has donatedto our Parish building fund.
As of right now we have spent $202,847 on fire related expenses. The majorcosts have been architectural assessment ($4,981), computer ($5,833), portableset up fees ($90,044), exterior bell system ($2,350), office supplies ($2,944),fire related overtime pay ($23,038), portable ramps etc. ($3,924), fire damagerestoration and removal ($48,587), plus monthly fees for the portables ($9,390)and public storage ($368). We are incurring other incidental expenses as we goalong but these major costs have been covered by our insurance.
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June 20, 1999
Our School Fire and "How can I help?" is a frequently asked questionthese days. Thanks again for all the concern and support. Hopefully, along withour architect and the insurance company, the decision whether we repair orrebuild on the same foundation will be made very soon and our exact plans andneeds will be more clear. In the meantime there are some definite ways you canhelp us: (1) All our class, graduating and second grade first communionpictures were lost in the fire. If you have any class pictures either ofgrades, graduates or first communion that we can copy please drop them off atthe parish house with your name and phone number on the back; (2) Designating aportion of your Sunday donation for the building fund is even more importantnow; the first priority of our building fund will be to reopen our school; (3)Specific donations received "to help with the fire loss" are beingplaced in a "fire fund" which will be used for the many schoolrelated expenses which insurance will not cover. I'll continue to share theletters and prayers of our second graders after the fire.
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On Saturday, May 15th at about 11:00in the morning we suffered a major fire to our parish school. Within three daysour school reopened using the parish hall, breakout rooms, ministry center& gym as a temporary site. The school year ended on Friday, June 11th. Tenportables have been set up on the lawn in front of the church and will be ourschool site for the '99-2000 school year. Presently we are working with ourarchitect and insurance company to establish the scope of work to be done. Thequestion we are facing is whether to repair the school (is it structurallypossible and cost effective?) or to rebuild the school on the same foundation.This website and our parish bulletin will keep you posted. Thank you for anycontributions which are being set aside in a Christ the King Fire Fund to helpdeal with the many fire-related expenses that we face.
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Diocese of Oakland, Pleasant Hill, CA, U.S.A.
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