What's it take to open a high school? 2,300 desks, 160 erasers ...
When it comes to opening a 3,000-seat high school in the state's third-largest school district, there's more to be considered than just getting the students in the building on the first day of classes.
With the Aug. 20 opening of Metea Valley High School less than two weeks away, officials in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 have been going number-crunching crazy making sure students will have everything they need.
Procurement Director Daniel Betts said it can be a stressful, yet rewarding task to make all the numbers line up.
"Managing and facilitating the procurement of furniture, fixtures and equipment at Metea Valley High School involves dealing with a lot of details, products and services. It requires working with a variety of vendors and staff to secure quality products while being mindful of the bottom line," Betts said. "More importantly, the opportunity to improve the learning environment for all students by procuring quality products while leveraging our limited resources is rewarding and fun."
Here's a look at some of the numbers that have gone into building Metea Valley.
People
1,250: Students expected on opening day - all freshmen and sophomores
100: Certified teaching staff to greet them
3,000: Maximum student capacity
1: Principal Jim Schmid
Administration
08/20/2009: First day of school
$124,036,709: Projected building and land costs as of June 1
1801: Address on North Eola Road, Aurora
$250,000: Price per acre district officials believed the original 80-acre Brach-Brodie site was worth
$190,000: Price per acre the district paid for the current 87-acre site
3: Middle schools feeding into Metea - Granger, Hill and Still
8: Days between when board members were presented with a new high school boundary plan on Feb. 11, 2008, and when they approved it on Feb. 19
442: Days between the June 4, 2008, groundbreaking and Aug. 20, the first day of school
28: School buses that will shuttle students to and from Metea daily
Supplies
2,300: Student desks
98: Pencil sharpeners
196: Marker boards
75: 1/2-inch and 3/8-inch socket wrench sets for the auto shop
160: Erasers
952: Desktop computers
133: Printers
83: Power strips
3,760: Network cables
233: Telephones
Athletics
200: Practice football jerseys delivered with "Metea" spelled incorrectly
140: Football helmets
90: Basketballs
80: Volleyballs
384: Baseballs
5: Tons of free weights
1: Stadium, with 8-lane track and combo football/soccer field
3,000: Stadium capacity, home side
1,000: Stadium capacity, visitor side
12: Tennis courts
2: Baseball fields
2: Softball fields
2: Soccer fields (practice, lower level)
2: Football fields (practice, lower level)
1: Pool with 8 lanes
1: Competition gym with 3 basketball courts or 3 volleyball courts
1: Auxiliary gym with 2 basketball courts or 2 volleyball courts, or 12 badminton courts (in combination with competition gym)
1: Training room
1: Fitness center
1: Wrestling room
Arts
209: Music stands
300: Choir robes ordered
225: Shelving units
600: Pounds of modeling clay
90: Paint brushes
2: Kilns
9: Reams of paper at 516 sheets each
30: Sets of pastels
Construction
465,000: Square feet of school building situated on about 87 acres
Maintenance
1: Facility manager
16: Custodians
3: Maintenance workers
2: Grounds workers