The new elementary school is scheduled to open in August, Haag said.
“We’ve got punch list items ready ... but the academic wing is almost fully complete,” Haag said. “They’ve been loading furniture in for the past week, bringing in student desks and chairs, teachers’ desks and chairs. All the loose furnishings are coming in, so that’ll be continuing on for the next couple weeks.”
The school’s academic wing is nearly complete, he said.
“They’re working on the gym, cafeteria, kitchen, the back-of-the-house, stuff to complete it, but the gym floor is down,” Haag said. “They’re striping it this week will start building bleachers in there in a couple of weeks, and they loaded kitchen equipment in yesterday, so they’re working on getting the kitchen set up.”
Open houses for closing schools Harold Schnell and Harry Russell elementary schools are planned while they are still in use, allowing teachers and students to say farewell.
The Harold Schnell open house is set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 6 and the Harry Russell open house is slated for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 13.
The district also is constructing a 192,790-square-foot middle/high school for students in grades 7-12, which remains on track to open for the 2026-27 school year, Haag said.
The high school academic wing and gymnasium are progressing well, with painted walls, installed drywall, and ongoing lighting work, Haag said. While these sections near completion, the other half of the building is still undergoing ductwork, piping, and system installations, he said.
Construction is advancing from the south to the north, with major elements like bricks, windows, boilers and HVAC units already in place, Haag said. The focus now is on finishing touches, including laying bricks, running pipes, installing lights and wiring, bringing the new school closer to completion.
Cost estimates for construction of both new schools remain unchanged. They are co-funded by the state and the West Carrollton community, with the state contributing 81% and the community covering 19%.
An independent study by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission of each school in the district determined that the cost of maintenance and updates outweighed the cost of constructing new buildings, the district said.
Demolition of the elementary schools is slated to start in June, with Schnell slated to come down first, Haag said.
“Once we demolish that building, we’ll begin work on building a baseball field on that site, because currently we don’t have a varsity baseball field because we built our (new) high school on top of it,” he said.
About the Author
