TRAVERSE CITY -- Mercedes Nelson's band class at Grand Traverse Academy meets on a stage with moveable walls, a functional classroom in an unconventional space.
When theater classes need the stage to prepare for spring productions, the band packs everything and relocates to a multi-purpose room.
Administrators and students say a pattern of growth, especially in the younger grades, necessitates the addition of a 51,000-square foot annex to the school's secondary wing.
School leaders requested $7.65 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the so-called stimulus package intended to revive the economy by spending on infrastructure and other projects.
At least $22 billion could be available for school construction, according to U.S. House and Senate documents on the state's recovery Web site.
"It's just kind of a temporary place to be," said Mercedes, 13, a freshman. "With a better band room, we can have the walls that absorb sound."
Flexibility always has been required at the academy, a 1,100-student public charter school in East Bay Township that has expanded both enrollment and the building's footprint since opening nine years ago.
The existing secondary wing was added in 2005, and a prekindergarten section opened in 2007.
About 25 seniors will graduate this year, but the current seventh-grade class has about 70 students, Principal Allyson Apsey said.
"We build in phases based upon the need, as well as the finances," Superintendent Kaye Mentley said. "With the economic times the way they were, we said, 'Let's put this off a little while and just kind of see what happens.'"
Federal stimulus funding would allow the project to begin this year, with estimated completion in 2010.
The upgrade would add 18 classrooms, a large gymnasium and an expanded band room, Mentley said. It also would incorporate an energy-efficient heating system that could regulate temperatures by dividing the school into separately controlled zones.
The Grand Traverse Academy project meets several initial criteria for stimulus funding, in particular that it could break ground within 180 days, and it includes a "green" component, said Bob Dwan, associate executive director of Michigan School Business Officials, a Lansing-based nonprofit.
His office worked with districts to create an inventory of projects, with the most prevalent including renovations, electrical and energy upgrades and technology improvements.
But, he added, little information is known thus far about how much Michigan will receive, or how much will be allocated to particular school projects.
"It's very preliminary in what the impact would be. I'm hoping it would be favorable," Dwan said. "It's kind of a wait-and-see approach right now."
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Should stimulus funds not support the project, administrators would aim to set a timeline for construction within six months, Mentley said.
The upgrade will be needed sooner rather than later in order to keep class sizes small, said John Velis, who teaches technology, math and science at the academy.
He is able to have his own classroom, but said many of his colleagues travel between rooms.
"They're really flexible, but I think a lot of them would love to have a room of their own," Velis said. "Knowing where we're going to be in a couple years size-wise, it's going to be mandatory for us."
Coming Thursday: Stimulus as economic development tools?
Stimulating? Other local school projects
School districts across the region have submitted their own project lists to the state in hopes of receiving a share of the federal stimulus package. Among them:
-- Add pedestrian paths and safer drop-off points at Traverse City West Middle School; $2 million
-- New doors and windows in an older wing of Leland Public School to become more energy efficient; $82,200
-- Add multimedia and wireless Internet connections in each Suttons Bay Public Schools classroom; $545,000
-- Upgrade lighting at all buildings in Benzie County Central Schools; $275,000
-- Resurface the parking lot at Frankfort High School; $64,429
-- Add two classrooms to Mill Creek Elementary in Elk Rapids Schools; $300,000
-- Connect John R. Rodger Elementary in Bellaire to the village's sewer system; $200,000
-- Replace roofs at Forest Area High School and Fife Lake Elementary; $154,215
-- New building at Kingsley Elementary; $9 million
Source: State of Michigan
