With about a month left of the summer, construction throughout the district is nearly finished.
During a tour of each school on Wednesday, the Eudora Times received updates from Superintendent Stu Moeckel on how construction is coming along and when it is slated to be complete.
Moeckel said, as of right now, all of the projects are still on schedule.
“We’ve been very fortunate as far as the scope of the projects are all still right where they need to be,” he said.
Moeckel said most of the bids on construction have been under budget, helping the district ensure it’s sticking to the bond’s budget.
“We have some things that we were able to add in because of some savings,” he said. “Some HVAC projects that will start probably over the course of this year. We were able to add some boilers and some new units to buildings that really needed them.”
Moeckel said every school will be getting a new intercom system and new instructional technology, like Smartboards, by the start of the school year. Every school will also have new LED lighting.
Early Learning Center
Moeckel said he hopes the Early Learning Center is finished within the next two weeks.
The Early Learning Center is connected to the West Resource Center, housed in the east side of the building. Moeckel said although the two are in the same building, the two will be separated by doors requiring security access to get through.
The multi-purpose area can be used as a cafeteria and indoor play area.
Moeckel said the outdoor playground at the Early Learning Center will fit into the rest of the center’s outdoor theme. The playground will be open to all Eudora residents.
The Early Learning Center will have eight classrooms, each with its own bathroom. Each classroom will have cabinetry, tables and cubicles.
The parking lot and entrance will have signage. Parents can enter the parking lot off Savage Street.
High School and EDTEC
Moeckel said the new auxiliary gym will feature volleyball nets and indoor batting cages as a way to provide more practice space. The gym will also double as a storm shelter for students and visitors in the building at the time of need.
The gym is scheduled to be finished in the spring.
Moeckel said the extension of the EDTEC building will hold six classrooms, but there will be room for future expansion. The extension is scheduled to be complete in December.
The entire EDTEC building is also getting new flooring and paint so the old and new building flow, Moeckel said.
Along with the expansion, the building will be connected to the high school, and there will be a new parking lot.
Middle School
Moeckel said entry into the middle school will be more secure with the construction of the new front office. Similar to the high school, visitors will now be required to enter through the office instead of walking directly into the hallway.
The front office will be complete by the start of school.
Elementary School
The elementary school will have a new playground and turf field by the start of the school year.
The playground will have two play structures: one for younger students and one for older ones. The pavement will be covered with rubber flooring.
Moeckel said the new turf field will allow students to play tag, soccer and run freely without worrying about ruining the grass or getting muddy.
Moeckel said he wants to thank students and their families for their flexibility and support throughout all of the construction.
“We hope that they can be as proud of the product that we’re going to put out as we are,” he said. “We have a great school system already, and we see this as just one more piece.”
Moeckel said he’s looking forward to seeing the final product after all of the district’s time and work that went into it.
“A lot of these things that have been identified are things that we have planned on for many years,” he said. “We’re really excited for this to roll out in August, for a majority of these projects, and let our students and our staff and our community really benefit from them.”
Reach reporter Ryn Drummond at [email protected].
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