Golden Bear pride: Southeast Local breaks ground on new $50M school building
APPLE CREEK – Members of the community and Southeast Local School District gathered outside of Waynedale High School Monday night to watch and participate in the first groundbreaking ceremony the district has had in almost 60 years.
Construction of the roughly 170,000-square-foot school will not start this summer — the rest of the construction bids for the project have not yet been awarded Treasurer Mark Dickerhoof said — but foundation work such as ground leveling begins this week.
Although the construction is not expected to be completed until the summer of 2024, school officials and community members are excited for the new building and the possibilities it opens for the district.
Father's Day picnic: Holmes County shows gratitude by hosting a Father's Day picnic for utility workers
Building in the works for some time
The process of requesting building proposals began back in November 2019, Dickerhoof said, and further progress was delayed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following spring. The district was able to pick things up last spring, choosing the architecture firm BSHM Architects and a construction manager from CT Taylor Construction.
After seeing updated schematic designs in April, the board shared comments but did not officially approve the plan. Many board members raised questions regarding the location of preschool and kindergarten classrooms, according to a previous Daily Record article.
Lights on Buggies?!: 'Buggy Bill' passes; law requires flashing lights on buggies
Both Dickerhoof and Superintendent Jon Ritchie said the district and board are planning to include those classrooms with the original build, however it's dependent on the overall cost.
At Monday's ceremony, Ritchie said the cost is estimated at $50 to $55 million. Dickerhoof said roughly $4 million will be provided through ESSER grant money and about $17 million is being covered through the district.
Next steps and future of the district
With some site-prep work expected to be completed by the end of the summer, Dickerhoof said, any blocked roads should be open before the start of the next school year.
Dickerhoof also said the board is hoping to get the rest of the construction bids by September and might even be able to start construction in late fall.
The future of some of the older schools – like Fredericksburg Elementary, which was built in the 1890s – has yet to be determined but Ritchie said he, and others, are excited about the new building.
“This isn't something that happens every day,” Ritchie said. “There were a group of people about 130 years ago that broke ground at one of our schools. So this is a really unique opportunity. We’re real excited for the kids in the community. And we just look forward to getting this done over the next couple of years.”
Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com
On Twitter: @RachelKaras3
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Southeast Local Schools breaks ground on new K through 12 building
