In places, the ceilings of Wilkes Elementary School leak. Elsewhere its floors sag.

Music classes are held in portables with poor acoustics, and administrators say its classrooms are too cramped for more active teaching methods.

“The classrooms themselves are very small,” Bainbridge Island School District Deputy Superintendent Faith Chapel said at a school board workshop Wednesday. “The square footage of most modern elementaries is larger, and that’s to accommodate some of the changes that have occurred (in teaching). You don’t just have kids sitting in rows anymore.”

The 50-year-old elementary school was the center of attention Wednesday evening as the board began discussions on the next phase of capital projects to be completed under the district’s master plan.

A complete reconstruction of Wilkes, as well as Blakely Elementary School and Bainbridge High School’s 100 building, are being considered as options for inclusion in a second stage of capital improvements, which would likely be funded by bonds put to voters in February or November 2009. Work could begin in 2010 or 2011.

An initial phase of capital work, which included the high school’s 200 building and Memorial Stadium renovations, was funded by a $45 million bond package passed in 2006, and is expected to wrap up by 2010.

At the workshop Wednesday evening, board members and district staff considered four possible packages for the second phase of facilities upgrades, each with an allowance for building maintenance and roofing at several schools.

One package would include a full reconstruction of Wilkes at an estimated cost of $42 million, including inflated construction costs for 2011.

A second option would rebuild Wilkes and Bainbridge High School’s 100 building, which houses its theater and many of its arts and vocational programs, for $70 million.

A $77 million option would rebuild Wilkes and Blakely, the district’s second oldest elementary school. The least expensive alternative would upgrade the existing Wilkes buildings at $21 million.

A survey by Mahlum Architects for the 2005 Master Plan found key systems at Wilkes — including plumbing, heating, electricity, phones and data feeds — were inadequate.

Butch Reifert of Mahlum Architects told the board Wednesday that at 50 years old, Wilkes is nearing a widely accepted 60-year life span for school buildings. The basic layout of its campus, where classrooms are housed in several buildings, is no longer considered a safe practice at grade schools, he said, because students are isolated during school lock downs and other emergencies.

“We’re not seeing that at elementary schools anymore, and that’s primarily because of safety issues,” Reifert said.

Redesigning Wilkes would give the district a prototype grade school, Capital Facilities Director Tamela VanWinkle said.

“This would be our first elementary school (to be rebuilt), but we would be looking at all three of our elementary schools so that as we move through our master plan implementation those same elements could be incorporated,” she said.

An obvious drawback to a complete rebuild would be “stickershock” hefty initial cost, she said. The 2005 Master Plan identified the replacement of Wilkes at roughly $25 million, but with building costs increasing more rapidly than expected it’s now estimated at just under $34 million, VanWinkle said.

A renovation would have the advantage of less disruption to the school during construction.

Board members were leaning away from a renovation of Wilkes, which they saw as investing money in a building that would need to be replaced soon anyway. Superintendent Ken Crawford agreed.

“I couldn’t recommend putting $15 million into sprucing something up that you’ll have to redo in 10 to 15 years,” Crawford said.

Blakely Elementary is next on the list for renovations. The 2006 Master Plan assessment found the school shared many of the same space shortages and system deficiencies as Wilkes, although the buildings are in better shape, Reifert said.

Bainbridge High School’s 38-year-old 100 building is also being considered for renovation.

There has been strong community support for a new theater in the building, which currently has a stage and seating for 240.

The building’s systems are showing signs of age, and the district will perform $110,000 in emergency repairs to the theater this summer to fix failing set rigging.

But board members weren’t sure that the high school would be ready for another major disruption to its campus following the construction of the 200 building.

“We have that new facility that’s going to open next fall, then to go back out in February and say, ‘Don’t you love it, let’s do some more’, that might be a little much for people to take in,” board member Mike Foley said.

The board also acknowledged that the district will face several challenges presenting a new round of capital bonds to the community.

According to the district, options that include renovating or rebuilding Wilkes would maintain or even reduce tax rates, based on a median home price of $600,000. Plans calling for a new Wilkes coupled with reconstruction of the 100 building or Blakely could raise rates from $90 to $192 a year.

One challenge will be convincing taxpayers that new buildings are needed, when enrollment has declined for two years.

According to the district, while student numbers have dropped, a focus on smaller class sizes and the addition of full-day kindergarten have increased its need for class space, especially at elementary schools.

Ordway Elementary Principal Robert Lewis stressed that the Master Plan is about more than just the condition, and capacity of facilities.

“The quality of instruction, and the type of instruction we’re doing need to be part of the conversation,” he said.

Board members are also concerned that not all voters will understand how the district can move forward with large capital projects (funded by voter approved local bonds or levies) at a time when it is cutting costs in its operational budget, which is dependent on state funds.

The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on facility improvements when the board meets for a workshop June 10.

Meanwhile, construction on the first phase of capital improvements continues. According to VanWinkle, the new maintenance facility has passed fire inspection and awaits an occupancy permit. Contractors have completed concrete walls, and are laying brick at the new 200 building, which is scheduled to open in November.

Construction on the new field at Memorial Stadium is set to begin June 16, two days after high school graduation.

The district’s last three years of capital projects are being scrutinized by state auditors this spring, following two complaints from anonymous community members.

According to Crawford, one requested a review of whether the district’s artificial turf project fits the original intent of the 2005 capital bond, while the other complaint deals with project change orders.

Results from the audit are expected in June.