Update from Gary Jantz

The following is an update on the construction progress in the district from Gary Jantz, Asst. Superintendent for Business.


Several bond construction projects are at various stages of completion and planning at this time.

The addition of air conditioning to Lindley Hall is complete. This project also included adding insulation and the installation of a new ceiling to the gym area. In phase II of this project, current windows will be replaced with energy efficient windows.

The addition of 6 classrooms to Northridge is almost complete. Our expectation is to move into those classrooms prior to the Christmas break.

Work is underway on the addition of work space and training lab/conference room to the Educational Technology Center. Dirtwork has been completed and footings are being dug.

Work has also begun on a 6 classroom addition to the east end of Santa Fe in preparation for it becoming a 5/6 center. The 6 classrooms will also be built to serve as a storm shelter so all students in the main building do not have to exit to the storm shelter area in Lindley Hall. Minor revisions to the media center and renovation of the existing tech lab area into classrooms, office and additional cafeteria space will also be done. Most work will be competed by the fall or winter of 2009 with the tech lab renovation to be completed in the summer of 2010.

Additions and renovations to current vocational buildings at the high school and the construction of a new vo. ag. and woods building is underway. The current auto technology building will have new classrooms and restrooms added to the south side, opening up additional shop space in the existing part of the building. The Brooks Trades Center will have storage rooms added for both Welding and Machine Technology. Extensive renovations and additions to existing classrooms are also a part of this project. The current woods technology classes will be moved out of Brooks into the new vo. ag. and woods building. This building will be a 50,000 sq. ft. metal building with classroom and shop areas. The vo. ag. part of the building will include a greenhouse, paint booth for painting large equipment and construction projects and an overhead crane system. At the present time dirtwork is underway on these projects with footings for the auto technology addition to begin soon. Completion of all these projects is scheduled for the start of school in the fall of 2009.

The extension and paving of Boyd Avenue from the high school to 17th Street has been completed. This extension was necessary to give access to the new vocational building.

Planning is 90% complete for additions and renovations to the Chisholm Campus. This project includes the addition of 3 general classrooms, 2 science classrooms, a special education classroom, vocal music room, conference/workroom, gymnasium, locker rooms and additional parking. If funding allows, a combination weight room/wrestling room will also be added. Improvements to existing spaces include adding offices to each of the pods and air conditioning of the current gym. The locker rooms will serve as additional storm shelter space. Canopies are being planned for main entrances. This project is scheduled to be bid in January or February with construction starting in the spring. Construction is due to be completed by the start of the 2010-11 school year.

Planning is also underway for additions and renovations to the main high school building. A new media center, office/conference spaces and exterior Ravenscroft Gym entrance are being planned for the south side of the building. The existing media center, offices and vo. ag. shop will be remodeled into classrooms. Ravenscroft Gym will also be air conditioned. This project will be bid in the spring with construction to start this summer and hopefully be completed by the start of the 2010-2011 school year.

The final project will be an addition to the Cooper Early Education Center. This project is in the very early stages of planning. Work will include demolition of the current Cooper Annex. The goal is to have this project completed by the end of 2010.

To this point all projects have come in under budget. Savings realized so far will go toward additional work that needs to be done at Chisholm and toward the purchase of furniture, technology and equipment for all projects.

November 3, 2008

Moving-in day for teachers and students at Northridge Elementary is fast approaching! The lockers are in and all windows and double-doors should be installed by now. This week the ceiling tiles go up and painting begins. Also scheduled for this week are the installation of flooring and plumbing. It won't be long!

Elsewhere, dirt work has started at the Santa Fe Middle School and Educational Technology Center construction sites. Bids for construction of the main Newton High School remodeling project have come in under budget. There will be a pre-bid conference next week for the construction of the new 50,000 sq. ft. vocational building at NHS.

The barn at Walton Rural Life Center is scheduled for delivery next week and should be assembled in time for winter. The barn will house some of Walton's resident animals for the winter.

Update on Construction from Gary Jantz

Here is an complete update from Gary Jantz, Asst Supt for Business on everything that has been happening with construction projects district wide:

The air conditioning of Lindley Hall is pretty much completed. This project involved replacing and insulating the ceiling and adding air conditioning to the gym and upgrading the heating and air conditioning in the locker rooms. This project had a construction cost of just over $360,000.

The addition of 6 classrooms to Northridge is well underway. The addition is enclosed, heating and air installed and much of the sheet rock and wiring installed. Estimated completion date is early December. The plan is to move 3rd and 4th graders into those classrooms at semester. The Northridge addition construction cost is around $1.2 million which is about $100,000 under budget.

The extension of Boyd Avenue is being done with bond proceeds and City funds. The extension of Boyd was necessary to provide access to the new agriculture and woods technolgy building to be built north of the high school. The district share of the cost will be around $500,000.

Bids were approved for the Santa Fe and Educational Technology Center additions and renovations last Monday. The low bid was submitted by Walz Harman Huffman Construction at a total cost of $2,822,000. This is the same contractor that did the renovations to Santa Fe in the last bond election. This project involves the addition of 6 classrooms and other renovations at Santa Fe and the addition of 6,000 sq ft to the ETC along with interior renovation of existing space. The bulk of this project will be completed about a year from now with some interior remodeling in Santa Fe in the summer of 2010. This project also includes replacement of windows in Lindley Hall. The bid came in about $500,000 under budget.

Bids are currently being sought for the new agriculture & woods technology building and additions and renovations to Brooks Trades Center and the Auto Technology building. Those projects are estimated to cost $6-7 million. A pre-bid conference is scheduled for October 1 with bid opening on October 15. The project is estimated to be completed by the start of the 2009-10 school year.

Design of the additions and renovations to the main high school building is underway. This includes the addition of a new media center, offices, conference space and an exterior entrance to Ravenscroft gymnasium. The existing media center and vo ag shop will be renovated into classrooms. A grant is being sought to include a distance learning lab in the new media center. Budget for these projects is $6-7 million. Construction is scheduled to start next spring.

Design is also underway for additions and renovations to Chisholm Middle School. Plans are to add 7 classrooms, conference room, locker rooms and gymnasium. If budget allows, a wrestling and weight room may also be added. Additional parking and drive access are also planned. The project is scheduled to bid late this year with construction to start in 2009. The budget for this project is about $4.7 million.

Planning for additions to Cooper Early Education Center will begin late this year with construction to start in the summer of 2009.

Gary Jantz
Asst Supt for Business Services

Northridge Construction Continues...

Construction at Northridge has progressed nicely and the exterior brick work is now completely done and workers are installing canopies above the classroom doors and windows. All plumbing and ductwork has been installed and some of the drywall is up. The AC units are in place on the roof and ready to run, which will help dry out the interior before the drywall work (taping, plastering and painting) can proceed.

Work at Santa Fe's Lindley Hall is almost finished. The AC units are up and running and were very much appreciated during the volleyball scrimage last weekend.

Opening bids for Santa Fe and the Education Technology Center addition and remodeling projects will be held this Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 1:30pm. Bids are expected to go out in about 3 weeks for the NHS addition, the Brooks Trade Center and the Automotive Technology building. The floor plans for Chisholm Middle School are finalized and bids will go out by November 21.

Thanks to a grant, the Walton Rural Life Center will be building a barn this fall. It will be a 30x40 metal building and will hopefully be completed in the next few months to help keep the animals warm this winter!

August 11, 2008

Work at Lindley Hall at Santa Fe Middle School is almost completely finished. All ceiling materials and light fixtures are installed and everything looks great. The AC units are in place and scheduled for hookup on Friday.

At Northridge Elementary the roof is completely finished as well. All mechanical work is done and workers will now begin installing the drywall inside. On the outside scaffolding has been erected and the exterior brick wall is being laid. Some of the NR teachers came out and inspected the construction recently. For photos visit the Northride construction updates page.

A pre-bid conference for the Santa Fe and Educational Technology Center additions will be held this Wednesday, August 13.

July 25, 2008

The roof on the Northridge addition is completed. Several layers of roofing materials were installed including metal decking, gypsum board, rolled felt, IsoBoard (insulation) and fiber board, which should keep the classrooms nice and dry for a long time. The exterior sheeting has also been installed this past week.

Framing on the interior has started and you can now walk down the "halls" and step into "classrooms". There will be a lot of things happening at NR in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

At Santa Fe's Lindley Hall the large ducts have been installed as well as the tectum panels that really help brighten things up. Outside Lindely Hall on the roof, everything will soon be ready for the large air conditioning units to be installed.

As always, more photos are posted on the construction updates site.

July 18, 2008

The metal roof decking has been installed at Northridge, along with metal studs and sheeting on the exterior wall. Hopefully the remainder of the roofing material will be going on today, weather permitting, and the roof should be totally completed by tomorrow. The curb ducts for 7 A.C. units have also been installed on the roof.

Footings have been dug for student benches that will be placed just outside all classroom doors of the new addition at Northridge. An ADA-complient sidewalk has also been added to the parking lot addition.

At Santa Fe, curb ducts have also been installed for the AC units at Lindley Hall. Ceiling materials have been delivered and will be installed today and the spiral duct work is scheduled to be installed at the beginning of next week.

A pre-bid conference will be held on Aug. 13 for the Santa Fe and Educational Technology Center additions. Opening bids will take place at McKinley Administrative Center on Aug. 28 at 1:30 pm.

More photos can be viewed by visiting the construction updates page.

June 26, 2008

Even though construction crews have been hard at work the last several weeks, you couldn't always see the changes taking place. However, this past week the progress has been very visible, with the steel framework going up at Northridge and the structure really starting to take shape. The new parking addition is in the process of getting striped and the sidewalk is being extended to the new parking spaces. Construction at Northridge appears to be ahead of schedule! For more photos of construction at NR this past week visit the construction updates page.

Many other things are happening across the district as well. At Santa Fe the ceiling insulation is completely installed and crews are installing access doors to the roof. The air conditioning units are being installed in the north and south locker rooms. Ceiling materials are expected to be installed starting the 2nd week in July.

The Boyd Street project at the high school came in under bid and construction by the city should start in about a week. Bids for the vocational building, auto mechanics and Brooks Trade Center will go out to bid at the end of August. The additions for the Educational Technology Center and Santa Fe Middle School are in the final design stages and will be going out for bids in a few weeks.

June 20, 2008

The wet weather hasn't slowed construction at the Northridge construction site. Wednesday morning at 7 AM the concrete trucks started rolling in. One hour, thirty minutes and one hundred twenty-five yards of concrete later, the floor for the addition was poured.




Two trucks at a time unloaded the concrete into a hopper that carried it into a "boom truck" from which the concrete was pumped, via a 120 ft. arm extension, into the forms. Once the concrete had dried, workers used large saws to cut grooves in the floor to prevent cracking.



The additional parking space on the south end of the parking lot has also been completed.



The weather also hasn't affected work inside Lindley Hall at Santa Fe where workers have been installing insulation in the ceiling. Without the insulation, the gym would have a 25 ton energy loss.



Another project this summer has been the wind turbine at Walton Rural Life Center. After a few delays, the actual tower and turbines were installed last week with the assistance of Westar employees.

Updates and more photos will be posted on the construction updates page.

Northridge and Santa Fe construction updates

The footings for the perimeter wall of the new addition at Northridge Elementary have been poured. Scaffolding is in place and construction has begun on laying the concrete block firewall. Equipment was brought in yesterday to start digging the new additional parking area. Hopefully that will be done by next week.

At Santa Fe Middle School, foam underlayment and "Oxboard" (waferboard) has been laid to help protect the flooring before installation of the air conditioning units begins.

For photos from both of these construction sites, visit the construction updates page.

Things are going to start getting even busier so be sure and check back in the weeks ahead.

Update for May 20, 2008

Construction for Northridge is moving along well. Dirt has been brought in and graded in preparation for the concrete pad. The footings have been dug and cement poured for the firewall next to the existing building. Fifty cubic yards of concrete was used for the footings. More photos of the Northridge construction is posted on the updates page.

Elsewhere in the district, the concrete pad has been poured at Walton Rural Life Center for their new wind turbine. The concrete will need to cure for a few weeks before the actual tower and turbines are installed. As of now the installation is scheduled for June 11.

Stay tuned in as more construction takes place around the district this summer!

Update for May 12, 2008

Construction on air conditioning for Lindley Hall at Santa Fe Middle School will start on the 27th. Sauerwein Construction will be doing the work.

Elsewhere, design meetings continue for the high school, both middle schools and the Educational Technology Center (ETC).

Update for May 2, 2008

There has been a lot of activity at the Northridge Elementary construction site this week. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday, April 28 and Paul's Excavating from Hutchinson has started doing the dirt work on the site since then. For more photos and information on these activities check out the Northridge construction updates page.

Update for April 21, 2008

Welcome to Grogg's Blog!

Construction updates for Newton Public Schools' bond projects will be posted here as they become available. For additional information check out the district's bond construction site.

Construction of six additional classrooms at Northridge elementary will begin this week with the installation of a construction fence. After the fence is installed, construction trailers and machinery will be brought in. Once the concrete play areas are removed and some sewer lines are relocated, the dirt work will start in the area of the new addition.

Construction at Northridge is scheduled to continue throughout the summer and should be completed in December.

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