It appears the renovation work at Yuma Middle School, as well as the outside work on the campus it shares with Morris Elementary and Little Indians Preschool, will be done on time for the start of school on August 31.
That was what the Yuma School District-1 Board of Education was told during its regular monthly meeting, Monday night at the district office in downtown Yuma.
Board President Dan Ross, along with board members Duane Brown, Lindsey Galles and Kim Langely were in attendance. Board member Thomas Holtorf was absent.
Superintendent Dianna Chrisman acknowledged she is feeling better about the situation.
“It is really nice to see it coming together because two weeks ago I was not as confident,” she told the board.
A lot has been accomplished during that time, as Chad Rayl of owner’s representative Progress One reported to the board.
He said nine inspections are scheduled for this week at YMS, with the final inspection set for Monday, after which staff can get busy getting the classrooms ready. He said there is a possibility the furniture can be moved in prior to that, so staff can just has to set it up all up after Monday.
The new carpet and windows in the junior high wing are wrapping up, the bus loop on the west side of the campus is nearly complete, as is the “Kiss and Go” area for drop-off on the east side. The HVAC for the junior high wing is set.
The remodeled kitchen, as always anticipated, will not be ready for the start of the school year, but it is ahead of schedule and will be functional soon after classes resume. (The district has plans in place to account for not having the serving kitchen in service early in the school year.)
As for Yuma High School, where the bulk of the district’s $32 million renovation/expansion project is taking place, the campus has been buzzing with activity.
Roof materials for the new auxiliary gym, located off the south wing of the school, were being installed earlier this week, followed by closing in the walls. At that point, work can begin on the interior as the whole as the structure will be enclosed. Crews also are working on the new weight room area that will connect the new auxiliary gym to the current school.
“There’s a lot of activity over there,” Rayl said.
There also has been a lot taking place where the new wing, which will include administrative offices and the Career Technical Education classrooms, extending west at the north end of the school. New electrical and other utility work has been done, along with laying the footings for the new wing.
Rayl told the board the district is entering the final stages with general contractor Neenan Archistruction in determining the Guaranteed Maximum Price for the new wing and renovation of the current classroom wings. Chrisman reminded the board there will be a special meeting August 31 to approve the GMP for that final phase.
As for the budget, Rayl said it is looking “very healthy.” He said $260,000 has been found to put back into the Contingency Fund, putting it at about $4 million. He noted that of the now the final GMP for the last phase is looking like it will be “significantly” under budget.
The plan is that the savings can be put back into the school, for such things as equipment, furniture, lighting. Chrisman told the board that the bus loop at the YMS/MES/LIP campus is road base, but it could be asphalted eventually if there are extra funds. She explained that there will be a process in place to determine what kind of expenditures any kind of savings could be used, which would have to fall under the BEST Grant scope of work.
So all in all, things are going well right now with the district’s major project, which is being funded equally by the BEST Grant and a voter-approved property tax increase.
