Ground breaking ceremony precedes elementary construction start

Members of the Mount Vernon school board, along with Superintendent Rick Flanagan, donned hard hats and lifted shovels full of dirt to celebrate the ground breaking for the district’s new elementary building on Friday, July 3.

The board was joined by children representing each of the grade levels that will be served at the school. Kenny Cushion, four year-old grandson of MVISD’s Facility Manager Ken Cushion, represented the kindergarten class. Evan and Hadley Sears, son and daughter of board member Brad Sears, represented the first and third grades respectively. Jacey Clayton, daughter of board member Tony Clayton, represented the second grade, and Rae Asay, daughter of board member Steve Asay, represented the fourth grade.

Personnel from the school district, representatives from the city and county government and local banks also attended the ceremony.

The 90,210 sq. ft. building will have three pods which will contain 14 classrooms each. A computer lab and restroom facility will be located in each pod. A library, gymnasium, and cafeteria with a stage set to one side for special events will also be included. The facility is set to accommodate 645 students.

The main entrance to the school will face west toward Hwy. 37.  There will be entrances into each of the classroom pods and one near the gymnasium for students to use in the mornings. Parents and others should all enter the school through the main entrance.

Private traffic will enter the site from an entrance off the school’s main boulevard and buses will drop students at the elementary’s main entrance. There will be a total of 290 parking spaces around the building with 120 on the east side between the school and the football field. Parking for events at the stadium will have to be adjusted during the 2009-2010 school year.

The erection of construction fencing was scheduled to begin this week for the elementary site. The project should be completed in time for the 2010-2011 school year to begin.

Construction on the high school dining hall and the bus barn are also underway.

Bids for the construction of the 3,000 sq. ft. dining hall came in $280,987 over the estimated cost, but that is due to the addition of food service equipment. Exterior air conditioning units at the high school have been moved to the roof top in recent weeks to make way for the dining hall. Construction should be completed before the end of 2009.

During the construction of the three bay bus barn, MVISD buses will be parked in the north parking lot, effectively blocking approximately half of the parking area from public access. Bids received were $307,197 over the original proposal. According to board member Brad Sears, the total price tag of $607,197 is the lowest amount of any bids to construct the facility the board has received during the past three years.

- Susan Reeves ’09