Knox Schools Building Project Ahead of Schedule

The building additions to Knox Elementary and High schools continue to take shape. Crews were busy working on the elementary school’s new third and fourth grade wing, as School Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart gave a tour last week. “This is really far along,” he noted. “We’ve got drywall on. We’re painting.”

A temporary wall in the cafeteria is set to come down over Christmas break, revealing a large, under-construction expansion. When it’s done, the elementary school will have one large cafeteria, freeing up space for other uses.

Over at the high school, Reichhart says crews are putting the finishing touches on the roof of the new multipurpose room addition. “This will be the largest [room] in the high school,” he said. “Our auditorium’s rather small. And it’s much bigger than our current gym, and we’ll have bleachers in here that will seat 900 people.”

The multipurpose room can be used for basketball, band, and a number of other sports and activities, but special acoustical treatment will also allow it to be used for testing. The addition will also contain a new weight room, eliminating the need for students to walk outside to the football field.

In the existing high school building, Reichhart says three classrooms are being remodeled at a time. The old cafeteria flooring has been removed, in preparation for the installation of new vinyl-type flooring after this week. “We actually did this work ourselves,” Reichhart explained. “I rode the stripper over fall break, and we saved about $20,000 by doing this work ourselves.”

Reichhart estimates that the project is currently about 35-percent complete. Project Superintendent Clarence Gehrke with Larson-Danielson Construction says the interior work is ahead of schedule for now, but he expects the entire project to end closer to schedule, due to the timing of material deliveries. It’s scheduled to wrap up in December of 2021.