Purdue News
Purdue News
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Burtsfield not suitable as child care siteA feasibility study aimed at finding a cost-effective site for a Purdue child care facility has begun looking at possible on-campus construction after a remodeling project at the Burtsfield School building in West Lafayette was deemed too expensive. Burtsfield, a former elementary school at 1800 N. Salisbury St., would have required up to $3 million in remodeling to meet standards required for high quality child care and infant care, according to Ken Sandel, assistant director of budget and fiscal planning and chair of the feasibility study committee. "A quality child care facility requires a design that groups or clusters classrooms by age and allows easy access to outdoor play areas; Burtsfield was designed in a very linear fashion for elementary education," Sandel says. "And there were many more design needs that would have required costly reconstruction." The feasibility committee presented its findings to Ken Burns, executive vice president and treasurer, and Sally Mason, provost, who determined that leasing Burtsfield and taking on reconstruction costs was not feasible for the university. Since that determination, the committee has been back at work, studying the feasibility of building an on-campus site along State Street, just east of Squirrel Park at the corner of State and Airport Road. "The potential size and scope of the center is still under review," Sandel says. "All employee and student groups want quality and affordability. Beyond those essentials, however, needs and wants vary. Our priority as a committee has been to find the best option for all our constituencies. "Our priorities are high quality child and infant care for children aged six weeks to kindergarten. We also want to provide full-time and part-time care to meet needs of employees and students who have flexible schedules. And we all are very conscious of the need to provide all these things as affordably as we possibly can." Burns says that for all practical purposes a new child care facility could be at least two and a half years to three years off. "We would need to finalize an operating budget that is cost effective for the university and for the people who use the facility," Burns says. "Actual funding for construction is probably still a year away, and construction itself could take 15 months or more." The university, which will absorb the cost of construction, is still investigating potential funding sources. If a building plan goes forward, the university would also cover costs of the building's utilities and upkeep, but all program costs would be paid solely by parents and guardians of the children enrolled. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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