Update on the high school gymnasium project.
The district has hired CMBA as the architectural firm for the project, and DCI to serve as the construction management company. We recently met with a stakeholder group to discuss what the scope of the work should be. The group consisted of community members, faculty members, administration and representatives from CMBA and DCI. The goal was to determine whether or not to replace the gym, or to demo the entire north wing of the building. All agreed that this is a great opportunity to provide our students upgraded facilities and that the best course of action is to demo the north wing. We have not yet decided if this will include the shop and agricultural classroom facilities, but it will include the front entry, music room, gym. locker room area and art classroom. We hope to build a gym that is larger in order to provide more seating for spectators and a playing surface that is standard length and width (our current playing surface is smaller than a standard high school floor).
For all of the improvements, the cost of the project will exceed the amount of money the district receives from the insurance company. The school board is currently considering a general obligation bond to pay for the improvements not covered by insurance, which would require voted approval from the community. There are many steps to go through in this process, including a signed petition to hold a vote in September for the bond issue. This is the main reason why we have not started work on the project yet. There are only three public voting dates in the 2021 calendar year that the district can put forth an issue for the public to vote on. The first was in March, which was too soon, and the second is in September. If the general obligation bond passes in September, the job can go out to contractors to bid on, and the work will begin sometime during second semester.
We know this is a long process, but we really are moving as fast as we can on the project. The district is currently working with area schools to host our home events at their facility whenever possible. The work to replace the tile floor in our elementary gym with a floor that is more suited to varsity level athletics is nearly completed. We will hold practices for junior high and high school practices in our elementary facility once the project is finished.
