School Looking Good, But Faces Snag

The last Glasgow School District Board meeting held a lot of updates about the elementary school construction taking shape. Viewing from the outside, those passing by might notice a roof, walls and windows are all in place. They won't be able to see the daily progress on the inside, but that progress is happening rapidly.

The project remains on time and on task at this point, but it was clear there were still some challenges ahead. Glasgow School District Owner's Representative Eric Hulteng reported that they were tackling abatement and handling ripping off the old roof, which was going to be more costly than expected. He stated that the demolition work was going to cost around $110,000 just to dispose of it.

While that wasn't something that was fully expected, there was a lot of positive thoughts on responses for bids that were going out on the final projects. Teachers are taking tours to keep up on the progress and with a roof and walls, the construction workers are out of the cold.

Project Manager for Sletten Cliff Garness added that they were dealing with some sinking cement slabs and trying to be conservative using heat in the building. He thought that they were going to remain on schedule with things coming towards a close by the end of August, but he did note there could be some concerns with the first week of school and whether or not the parking lots and driveways would be ready to go. He said he wanted to be sure demolition crews and construction equipment was out of there before children were entering the building.

The school board discussed options with the upcoming school calender on possibly starting school after Labor Day this year. It was decided the committee would take a look to see if that option was feasible. There was some concern on how that might affect sports schedules. Garness noted that they could work overtime, but those overtime costs could add up as well.

As January came to a close, the building saw electrical work, painting, some finishing cement work and dry wall all going up. Some classrooms have finally taken shape. The hope is that by the end of February the elevator and roof would be finished. In March the flooring and ceilings were scheduled to be finished and the progress will just continue from there.

Superintendent Bob Connors gave a tour for The Courier, and it was amazing to see how much progress had been made since October. While it was clear there was still a lot of work to be done, the shape of the building was clearly finishing up.