District Tackling Capital Improvements Projects

Several capital improvement projects are in the planning phase or have been completed at Crawford County R-1’s campuses.

During the board’s meeting June 24, a transfer of $450,000 was approved from Fund 1 to Fund 4 for the purpose of completing the projects.

The updates include new flooring, an improved concession area, shop renovation, new furniture and updated color schemes.

A new universal door and lock system is being installed throughout the district.

High School

New VCT title has been overlaid in the cafeteria and commons area.

Superintendent Dr. Gibbs said the new tile reflects the school’s colors and replaces dark shades of beige and brown.

New VCT tile was previously overlaid through the main hallway and seven classes at the elementary school.

“The school is much brighter and more cheerful for our elementary students,” Gibbs said.

A new concession stand has been added to the high school commons, along with a drop ceiling and new lighting.

Updating the door and locks system has been in talks going back to last year and the district is following through.

“The district will move all locks to the Best locking system, which is a highly rated secure system,” Gibbs said. “With this system, administration and maintenance will have much more ease of access to various rooms.”

The school has a mix-and-match system of randomly-installed door hardware, Gibbs said.

Some other projects are in the planning phase.

With the shop classes set to move out to the Agriculture/STEM addition, the district must figure out a way to repurpose the existing shop space.

Tentatively, Gibbs said the current shop room and business room will be converted into two science lecture classrooms.

The existing shop that joins the agriculture classroom will be divided into two spaces with a science lab in one of the spaces.

The remaining space will be converted into an athletic training area.

Gibbs said it will include weight machines, workout equipment and potentially batting cages.

New furniture is needed to equip the Ag/STEM building and the implementation of a STEM classroom at the middle school.

Other upgrades are being done where needed with tables, chairs, desks and cabinetry said Gibbs.

Another project in the planning stages is an upgraded heating system of the high school gym, along with air conditioning.

Finally, the safety vestibule that was added to the elementary last year has a bright color scheme welcoming visitors to the building and the district plans on extending that throughout the campus.

“The original elementary hallways had beige tile on the walls and other areas where the paint was showing wear from having not been painted recently,” Gibbs said. “The color scheme in the new addition is being extended throughout the elementary building to give it a cohesive and welcoming appearance.”

Gibbs said this summer is phase one of a of a two-phase paint project to give the entire elementary an update.