Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home School Board members got to see two elementary school construction projects that were basically finished, and a junior high project in which major construction is just about wrapped up, during a tour Monday afternoon.
The Sweet Home School District, with contractor Gerding Builders, remodeled Holley and Foster elementary schools last summer with a pair of $1.5 million seismic upgrade grants from the state government .
With a $4 million bond that district officials guaranteed would not change the district’s property tax rate, the district received a matching $4 million grant from the state and is using additional funds from the district’s Long-Term Maintenance Fund and local staff to remodel the junior high, said Supt. Tom Yahraes.
The bond also covered improvements at the district’s elementary schools, such as new locking vestibule to improve building security, and upgrades to building infrastructure.
The board visited Foster, then moved onto Holley School and then Sweet Home Junior High prior to its regular board meeting Monday.
“Foster’s pretty well wrapped up,” said Josh Darwood, maintenance supervisor. “Holley is waiting on some weather for the paint” and Spring Break to powder coat railings.
Foster is “99 percent finished, just some networking details that need to be fixed, access points for wireless,” Yahraes said. The new siding is done. The school has new windows, roof, ceiling panels, lighting fixtures and a secure vestibule.
Security cameras have been updated, and a new hallway and doors grant access to the back playground, Yahraes said. That area is the future of the school, whether it provides more classrooms, parking or something else.
Holley is at “97 percent,” Yahraes said. The new entry is finished, including a secure vestibule and office area. The cafeteria is finished, and the building is safer seismically, with an updated roof and structure and new windows.
Gerding is about 3½ months from completing its portion of the junior high project, Yahraes said. District staff will carry the project over the finish line in-house. They will finish work in the art room, a new “maker space,” along with a couple of other classrooms.
Major construction is done in the gym and the new office space, Yahraes said. The new office space includes a secure vestibule as well as new office space for the school resource officer and representatives of other agencies.
Gerding is finishing the interior of the area right now, Yahraes said.
“It’s drywalled, but the finishing details are not complete.”
Yahraes said a wood floor will be installed soon in the new gym.
The old breezeway between the two main buildings is now enclosed, Yahraes said. The interior remains to be finished.
Roofing is done, Yahraes said. The new windows are in.
Darwood said the new siding will begin going up the week after next.
The cafeteria “is going to be the last section to be completed,” Yahraes said. The cafeteria is visible on the north side of the old gym from 22nd Avenue. Gerding is waiting for a shipment of glulam beams to finish the structure, which are also needed to finish the entry vestibule.
Outside the building, the new parking lot is fully functional, Yahraes said. It still has needs some signage and lighting. The new bus loop, which enters and exits at Mountain View Drive, is in use.
“It’s improved greatly, the segregated drop-off and pick-up,” Yahraes said. Parents are now able to pull into the junior high parking lot to pick up their children, while buses are able to enter and exit unrestricted by parking lot traffic.
Junior High Assistant Principal Mark Looney said that 80 to 90 percent of parents are dropping off their children in the parking lot, while a few continue to drop them off along 22nd Avenue.
Yahraes praised the district’s maintenance staff, noting that Darwood, a former local contractor, and his staff’s contributions to these projects have saved the district probably $2 million this year and last year.
As the projects begin winding down, “we’re gearing up and looking to the future,” Yahraes said. The district will use a $25,000 grant to move forward on a long-range facilities plan and take a look at the buildings and fields across the district.