by Jeffrey Lund
Superintendent
It surely has been a busy summer with construction and will be until right up to the start of the year as crews work on their specific areas to finish the project at Marshall County Central Schools.
We are targeting Wednesday, Aug, 28 for our ribbon-cutting event. We are planning a small event with Viking staff at Viking Elementary School in the morning to commemorate that school. We are planning a community-wide ceremony at 4:30 p.m. in the new gymnasium at the high school site in Newfolden. The event will take place just prior to our back to school night events at each site, which are scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. The general public is invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
To celebrate the construction, the start of the school and to welcome the community, we also plan to have Newfolden Elementary and MCC High School open for tours following the Newfest parade until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.
On Aug. 9, 2022, MCC voters passed an $18.9 million building referendum to add needed space onto Viking Elementary School and MCC High School. The entire project is budgeted to cost $20 million, which includes a contingency in the event of any unexpected costs. The remainder of the project will be covered by a bond premium earned from the sale of bonds and interest earned on the project funds until those funds are needed for the project.
Right now, we are tracking well regarding the budget with some contingency remaining. Timing of the project worked out well, allowing us to earn interest on the bond funds prior to them being spent. Interest earned must be used in conjunction with the project. The school board will review some possible items that will be added to the end of the project. Some of these items include some sidewalk work, consideration of a second softball field, additional fencing and existing fence repairs, signage, and saving some contingency in case any unknown issues come up in the year after construction.
MCC High School
Work continues on the high school portion of the project. The east classroom addition is nearly completed. It contains four classrooms for grades 5 and 6, a multipurpose room and restrooms. Furniture is currently being installed in the classrooms. Teachers will be able to access this area shortly to begin getting their classrooms ready for school.
The north addition of the high school contains a new high school kitchen, commons/cafeteria area, concessions area, gymnasium and fitness center. Some finishing touches are still needed on each area within this addition. Crews are currently installing ceiling tiles in the commons area, hooking up kitchen equipment, installing sound panelling in the gym, preparing the fitness area for flooring, and preparing electrical work for secure entry and fire alarm system. Work in this area will progress up to the start of school.
Outdoor work at the high school site has ramped up the past couple of weeks. Dirt work was completed and the tall grassy areas have been mowed. Fencing was installed around the retention pond area, and crews were here last week to do pavement work around the north receiving area, the west parking lot and the east parking lot. Pavement work was expected to be completed Friday, Aug. 2. Landscapers will be coming in the next couple of weeks for some work.
Viking Elementary School
Last year, the large portion of the construction at Viking was completed. That work included the front entry office, principal’s office, gym office, kitchen storage and remodeling, and music room addition. This summer, work included converting one class for a social work/speech room and library area. Work also included removal of a walk-in cooler to widen the hallway into the cafeteria. Lastly, work was done to improve the firewall between the 1956 original building and the 1965 addition, which was required by the state plan review inspection.
In addition to construction, moving second grade to Newfolden allowed us to create an additional preschool room, expanding preschool to four days a week for the upcoming year. Furniture for that space was recently installed. We moved our staff breakroom to the old music room, which allowed us to create a nurse’s office. We added some fencing around our propane tanks and along the roads adjacent to the playground, which will improve safety.
Newfolden Elementary School
Newfolden Elementary did not have any construction within the building, but we did address a couple of areas. A parking lot for staff and visitors was installed on the east side of the school. A new outdoor basketball court replaced an older court, and moving fifth and sixth grade to the high school allowed us to reopen the Newfolden Elementary music room and library. Reopening these rooms will allow our students to stay in the building and not go across the street for those classes anymore. The library and music room were furnished with new furniture.
The interiors of both Viking Elementary and the high school buildings still look like construction sites. Each week, progress is made and things look to be staying on track toward the finish line. Right now we are doing everything we can to cooperate with construction workers to allow them to complete their work. Later in the month, we’ll have our building inspections, which is that final step before we can occupy all the space.
Appreciation
We are truly grateful that the community supported the referendum for the project. After two summers and a school year of construction, it will be exciting to move into the new spaces. I have greatly appreciated staff and family flexibility as we worked around the construction work. Our teachers will be pressed a little bit to get their rooms ready compared to a normal year, but all understand that in the end the benefits for our students will make that worth it. It has been great working with the construction crews. We especially appreciate that many local and area construction businesses were able to contribute to the project.