Site work on both projects launched in October.
The elementary school, which will house second, third and fourth-grade students, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025, Jack Haag, the district’s business manager, told this news outlet. The middle/high school campus, which will house the district’s seventh through 12th-grade students, is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2026, Haag said.
“The construction manager has worked diligently to ensure that the elementary will be ready for an August 2025 opening and the high/middle school will be ready by August 2026,” he said. “Shook Construction has done a great job managing the supply chain to ensure materials are on-site when needed.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Both projects are on budget with the elementary contract coming in at just under $35 million, and the middle/high school budgeted for just over $71 million, Haag said. The district has set up regular meetings with its building team to monitor the budget and the timeline for the two schools he said.
Site work kicked off with the grading of the land and installation of most of the buildings’ site utilities, including water, storm, electric, gas, technology and sanitary, Haag said. That work will continue throughout the project, he said.
The schools have most of the footers complete, with the exception of the storm shelters for each school. Inside of the building footprint, plumbers, masons, and electricians are busy with their rough in installation of piping conduit, and concrete block, Haag said. The concrete floors are being poured as the other trades complete their rough in work in each area, he said.
There is “a lot of work to go” at both schools, Haag said, noting that the majority of the summer will be a continuation of the current work.
“We look forward to the completion of first-floor masonry so the second floor work can begin,” he said. “If you drive by the high school site on I-75, you can see that the high school gym has two walls complete and third will be completed shortly.”
Even with things going smoothly for both projects, some challenges have arisen, Haag said.
“Any time you build a new school on the same site as an existing school, it creates a challenge,” he said. “Some of those challenges are traffic flow, parking, and noise. The contractors have done a great job mitigating noise during school hours. Our staff and parents are adapting quickly to the changes in parking and traffic around the schools.”
About the Author
