Renovations are still ongoing at several USD 253 Emporia school buildings and nearly complete at two.
According to the latest Building for the Future update presented to the USD 253 Board of Education Wednesday night, Eric Woltje of McCownGordon Construction stated that work at Emporia Middle School and Village Elementary are both more than 90 percent complete with only a few minor areas still needing attention.
Separately, work at both Riverside and Timmerman Elementary are just over 40 percent complete. Woltje says he does not anticipate work at any of the buildings to adversely impact the learning environment when the school year commences next week.
Speaking specifically about Timmerman and Riverside, Woltje says the majority of interior work on both buildings was completed over the course of the summer.
William Allen White Elementary is the final school to undergo renovations as part of the bond initiative approved by local voters back in 2019. Woltje reports schematic designs have been completed on that project and sent to the Building for the Future Executive Committee. Woltje says the project is slightly over budget at this time, however, it is no reason for alarm as it is early on in the process.
In separate business Wednesday night, board members approved updates to various handbooks for certified staff, classified staff, substitute teachers and administrators as well as the athletic handbook for Emporia High and Emporia Middle School. A memorandum of understanding between the district and CrossWinds Counseling and Wellness, an addendum to the concurrent enrollment partnership between USD 253 and Emporia State University and minor updates to the district’s emergency operations plan were all approved unanimously as well.
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, board members convened for their annual board retreat. Board President Jami Reever says the focus of that meeting was developing a board operations manual.
Reever says this new document aims to make the board as “high functioning” as possible.
The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, August 23 at 4 pm for a board retreat with the regular meeting to follow at 6:30 pm.
