The construction of wing additions to three local schools are on track for completion by the 2014-15 school year. The additions, which are being funded by a $45 million bond issue that voters passed in 2012, are taking place at Destrehan High School, Hahnville High School and Mimosa Park Elementary.
John Rome, executive director of physical plant services, said the construction that began early this year is mostly on track.
“At this point in time we fully anticipate being ready for students and teachers for the 2014-15 school year,” he said.
At Destrehan High School, the ROTC building has already been completed and should be ready for use within the next month. Rome said the ROTC will allow students to move out of portable buildings that are currently being used to house the classes.
“In the 2012 bond issue, one of our main issues was to build permanent structures and get rid of portable buildings. In this case we are taking care of ROTC. It was a smaller portion of the project so we got it done earlier to give them that quicker,” he said.
Rome said the ROTC building is much like the one constructed at Hahnville High School only a few years ago.
“We did an expansion of the current facility just like we did at Hahnville a few years back. For the most part it mirrors the addition at Hahnville. We added some office space, a couple of restrooms, a large uniform storage room, a classroom and another auxiliary storage room,” he said.
Despite the conclusion of that phase of construction, the other part of the Destrehan wing, which will house art and band as well as other classes, is a little behind schedule. However, Rome is confident the 48,599-square-foot project, which cost $7.9 million, will be back on track soon.
“I think they are a little bit behind at this point in time, but the contractor is putting together a schedule to make up some time,” he said.
In contrast, the wing additions at Mimosa Park and Hahnville High School are ahead of schedule.
At Mimosa Park Elementary, the 41,475-square-foot wing addition that cost $7.5 million will house kindergartners who would have attended the soon to be defunct A.A. Songy Kindergarten Center.
Rome said the project is in its final stages.
“Mimosa is a good bit further along,” Rome said. “We anticipate that getting done a little bit ahead of schedule, probably mid-March to early April.”
At Hahnville High School, construction on the 36,632-square-foot wing, which comes at a cost of $7.4 million, is moving along a little slower, but still ahead of schedule. The new wing will be mostly comprised of foreign languages, drafting and special education suites.
Although the roof is on the Hahnville addition, there is still a lot of work to be done as far as the interior and exterior are concerned.
“I see them probably being completed in the neighborhood of late April to early May. Of course it is dependent upon the weather, but at this point we fully expect they will be ready for the students at all three schools in the upcoming school year,” Rome said.
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