Progress continues on the last major construction projects funded by voters in a 2021 bond issue, even as design and planning work continues on the next projects approved by voters on Valentine's Day in 2023.
In 2021, voters approved bonds to build additions at Richard Kane and Wilson elementary schools to provide spacious and secure lobbies along with improved offices and nursing areas. The Kane and Wilson additions are now open, with some finishing touches coming before the next school year.
Richard Kane Elementary
The expansion to the north at Kane is now completed and open.
Pending improvements are a new outdoor electronic marquee that is scheduled to be installed by the end of the school year, and a canopy from the entrance by the Early Childhood pods to the street that is scheduled to be installed over the summer.
Inside is a spacious and secure lobby, larger office, improved nursing area, and updated staff lounge.
Wilson Elementary
Wilson's expansion to the north is also now completed and open.
Its new electronic marquee is also slated to be installed by the end of the school year. Inside is a secure vestibule leading to a beautiful new lobby/commons. The office now has room for added staff, the nursing area is greatly improved, and there is a new interior side area off a courtyard that can host scheduled and approved visitors.
Agriculture Center
Back in 2021, voters also approved an Agriculture Center that will be built southeast of the high school. Its classrooms, show arena, small barns, and greenhouses will complement the existing classrooms and agriculture shop already in use in the existing agriculture building south of the Fine Arts Center near the Bruin Activity Center indoor practice facility.
The award-winning agriculture program continues to grow. Its initial enrollment of 77 students in 2019-2020 grew to 198 students in 2022-2023, and enrollment for next year is so high that a third agriculture teacher will be joining Marty Jones and Cameron Dale for 2023-2024.
The Pathfinder Parkway entrance off Shawnee Avenue south of the high school will remain closed while site preparation is underway and during construction. The area has been cleared and floodplain dirt from a nearby borrow pit is being used to build up an 8-foot-high platform for the new building to lift it out of the 100-year floodplain without adding dirt to the floodway that would exacerbate floods.
When complete, there will be a parking lot north of the facility for use by patrons as well as the public accessing the Pathfinder Parkway.
The high rate of inflation, especially in construction, and supply chain disruptions have created pressures for a project that was funded based on estimates in 2021. The district is grateful to the Lyon Foundation for a $500,000 grant that will fund the agriscience and production greenhouses at the new Agriculture Center, allowing the center to be completed as planned.
A groundbreaking for the new Agriculture Center is slated for Monday, May 8, 2023 at 4 p.m. It will occur at the old Pathfinder Parkway entrance just south of 18th Street along Shawnee/Jim Bohnsack Avenue.
Wayside Expansion
On Valentine's Day, voters approved funding to expand Wayside and Ranch Heights elementary schools to accommodate increasing enrollments. The Wayside project comes first, and planning is underway. The district is working to acquire adjacent land to provide room for parking and construction laydown for the significant addition, some of which will eventually become permanent parking as well as additional playground space. Site preparation work will begin at Wayside once school is out in May.
Thanks to the support of district patrons, it continues to be a great time to be a Bruin!
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