Locker room renovations underway

The first of four public school renovation phases began recently with the dismantling of the locker rooms. Kranz Construction of Milan began knocking out and removing the inner walls of the locker rooms, as well as tearing up the old floor and ceiling on March 29.

The Kranz Construction crew has been and will be working later in the afternoons and some weekends in order to not disrupt classrooms when school is in session. “The new boys and girls locker rooms will each have eight 'privacy' showers in them,” said Superintendent Dan Deitte.

“And we will also add a visitors locker room with two showers and a storage area.” The current boys and girls locker rooms have “open” showers and today's culture shows a need for individual showers.

The locker room renovations, which will include new plumbing and new tiles on the walls and floors, are expected to be completed by Aug. 1. Other renovation projects that will begin once school is dismissed for the summer include: a garage for school vehicles, renovation of the practice gymnasium and the replacement of 35,000 square feet of floor tiles in some of the halls and approximately 20 of the high school and elementary school rooms. A five-stall vehicle garage in a current empty lot that the school purchased across North Monroe Street will be built next to the current two-stall garage that is currently on the lot.

“We have six vans, a pickup and a trailer that are now parked outside the school,” Deitte said.

“In the winter, it's frustrating if a vehicle doesn't start or gets stuck in the snow after the plows have gone by. Drivers have to shovel to get the vehicle out. This new garage will make things much more convenient.”

Many of the floor tiles in the halls and rooms will be torn out and replaced because some of the current tiles contain asbestos in the tile glue that was commonly used years ago. Some of those 9” x 9” tiles are outdated and will be replaced by modern 12” x 12” tiles. The flooring project, which will be done by Sussner Construction of Marshall, is expected to begin on June 3 and be completed in the fall before school starts. The current acoustic panels in the practice gymnasium will be removed by Sussner Construction and replaced by modern panels beginning on June 1.

“We will also have new LED lights installed and the walls will be painted in the practice gym,” Deitte said.

The upcoming renovations are a portion of the original $5.2 million school renovation project.