We are a few short weeks away from completion of Phase 1.5, the remodel of the "new" junior high and high school. When completed, we will have upgrades in science lab, teacher work room, a new office, 15 classroom upgrades, new walls in the small gym, completely refinished bathrooms, a fresh look in the hallways including new lockers, and wide open art room. Look forward to showing it off in a few weeks.
The Parker School District JH/HS remodel is still a work in progress. We did have an issue with the outside wall facing south into the courtyard. That wall was found as failing when we removed all the coverings to install new HVAC equipment and ceiling. We had to brace that wall, and remove the failing brick, and put new framework on it. We will be completing that in the coming weeks. It has slowed down the overall process for a bit, but will not affect the final completion date of our entire project, which will still be fall of 2024 with all phases being completed. This phase (1.5) is a bit behind, but we have been working around remodel and construction all year, so a few more months isn't going to affect us too much. Demolition of the 1912 building is scheduled for late April or early May, weather will be a factor in that timeline. Pictures below in order from top to bottom are: New wall finishes in the small gym (in progress), failed wall framed, framing of remodeled bathrooms, new office for our success coordinator, new teacher lounge/workroom. Go Pheasants!!
The remodel for our new high school is going well and for now is on time. Timing to complete is around the end of the calendar year, with a few rooms getting completed by February. Those four rooms that will be done in February were given to us to use while the remodel was happening because they have the least work to do. An item that has come up is the internal wall of the 1956 building. As remodeling started and demolition was occurring, we found that the south facing wall in the courtyard was failing. You can see in the first photo, that we will be taking that wall out, and replacing with a new one. Other than that, we haven't seen any real surprises. The second photo will be the new science lab, and the final photo is the remodeled bathrooms.
The Parker School Districted agreed to have a $4,000,000 bond election. The additional dollars would be added to approximately $4,000,000 that the district has available to them already to complete the following items in our building project.
• ADA accessibility
• Auxiliary Gym/Storm Shelter
• Cafeteria expanded by 1100 sq ft
• Locker rooms
• New 3600 sq ft CTE shop and classroom
• Playground equipment and surface
• Remodeled Secure Entrances/Administrative offices
• Weight room (optional)
• Wrestling room
The new school year is here, and the first few weeks have been a great success. Despite some challenges with construction and moving some classrooms around, the teachers and students have adjusted to the new temporary layouts in the JH/HS, and we are really excited about our new elementary school. The renovation and new elementary school, totaling approximately $6.2 million dollars is a great addition to our facilities, and will enhance the experience for thousands of Parker students now and in the future. Below you will see pictures of the new elementary school and some pictures of our current renovation status. The JH/HS renovation project is scheduled to conclude in December, and is currently on time to do so, with the exception of an exterior wall that needs to be replaced facing the courtyard. The timeline for that has yet to be determined, but we are anticipating early in the new year (2023).
The elementary school is scheduled to be completed by August 15th, however, we have been continually informed that they plan on letting us move in the last week of May. Upon moving in, the current elementary will then immediately have workers roaming the halls, and renovation of that area for the new high school area will begin. It's a great time to be a Pheasant. The interior is beginning to take shape in the new building. Remember to vote in the upcoming bond election on May 10th, 2022 at the community hall. The five million dollar bond will allow the school district to complete the continuing project adding a new CTE area, new auxiliary gym, secure entrance/exit to the school, additional office space which will open up classroom space, as well as a larger lunch room.
We are currently ahead of schedule on the elementary building, and are looking to move in the last week of May. The outer brick is almost complete, and the interior walls are sheet rocked. Infrastructure changes every day, and we are really looking forward to May and the seeing the final interior touches. The Parker School Board has authorized the attempt to garner an extra 5 million dollars to complete all phases of our building plans. We will need to pass a bond to do this. Rising costs, a few changes to our original plan, and building for future growth are just a few of the reasons we need the extra dollars. On March 28th at 6:30 pm we will be holding a community informational meeting. The bond election will be on May 10th. But before that, our school board election is on April 12th, so don't forget that.
