By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board will consider the budget for bond work at O'Loughlin Elementary School at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Rockwell Administration Center.
The maximum price for the work is proposed at $14.493 million.
SEE RELATED STORY: Hays BOE sees design for O'Loughlin Elementary addition/renovation
The O'Loughlin Elementary project is part of a slate of $148 million in bond projects, which also includes the construction of a new high school, renovation of the current high school into a middle school, renovation of the current middle school into an elementary school and expansion of Roosevelt Elementary School.
The O'Loughlin project will include two additions on the southwest and northeast sides of the school, totaling 12,000 additional square feet. The current building is about 46,000 square feet.
O'Loughlin will remain a three-section school. That means it will have three classrooms for every grade, kindergarten through fifth. The square footage of the kindergarten rooms will be expanded.
The southwest addition will include a new cafeteria, commercial kitchen, art room and secure entrance.
The administrative offices will be moved to the southwest portion of the school to the new entrance, and those spaces will be expanded.
The parking and traffic circulation will be reconfigured as part of the bond project.
A new road will run from the school to 12th Street. This will allow parents to drop off children via the current circle drive off of Hall Street and through the new parking area off 12th Street.
The east addition will include three new classrooms, one of which will be a collaborative classroom. The entire east addition will serve as a storm shelter and will be able to accommodate the full student body and staff. The windows will be bullet- and high-wind-rated.
The stage in the gym will be enclosed to create a music room, which will be wheelchair accessible by a new concrete ramp. The current music room will be turned into a STEM lab.
All the classrooms will have new flooring, paint and ceilings where needed.
Lincoln Elementary School closing
The board will also have a hearing on closing Lincoln Elementary School. This year, the school is celebrating its 100th year and is the oldest operating school in the district.
The district plans to close the school at the end of this school year.
Students from Lincoln will move to Roosevelt, O'Loughlin or Wilson.
Wilson is also set to close as an elementary school. However, the bond projects include the renovation of the current middle school into a new elementary school.
Nabholz Construction will also give bond updates during the meeting on the Roosevelt and Hays High projects, which are under construction.
Other business
The board also will conduct its annual budget and revenue-neutral rate hearings and hear an update on the school resource officer program.