Staff Writer
ASHLAND – Recent sunny weather is a welcomed change for crews working on the new pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school in Ashland.
According to SAD 32 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson, the project is “going along well.”
Photo courtesy of SAD 32
THIS AERIAL PHOTO taken May 16 by Walter Mosher shows the progress being made on the new pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school in Ashland. The new school is being built on the current high school soccer field. Foundation work that began last October is now complete, and steel is going up. The new 90,000 square foot building will accommodate about 350 children in pre-K through grade 12. Bowman Brothers of Newport is the general contractor, and the building will be completed by August 2010 and ready for the start of the school year in September.
“Project officials are telling me that they are back on schedule,” said Johnson. “Through the winter, work slowed down, but it’s picked back up in recent weeks. There are more workers and more equipment on the site. We’re out of the mud season and construction should move forward fairly rapidly from this point.”
The new school is being built on the current high school soccer field.
Foundation work that began last October is now complete, and steel is going up.
“The building will now actually start to go up,” said Johnson. “People can now see the steel going up as the outline of the building starts to take shape.”
Johnson said every six weeks aerial pictures will be taken.
“That’s an excellent way to track progress,” he said, “… from the air.”
The new school will accommodate about 350 children in pre-K through grade 12.
“The new school is designed to meet current and future educational needs of students for space and educational programming,” said Johnson. “The entire facility will be made handicapped accessible and energy efficient.”
Plans call for an auditorium designed to seat 375, and an expanded gymnasium with seating for 520.
New paved parking and driveway with separated bus drop-offs, play areas, and landscaping are also included in the project to make the site safer and more functional. Furnishings, computers and much needed equipment are also called for in the project budget.
The 90,000 square foot school will cost $21,937,928, of which $20,217,000 (91 percent) will be paid for by the state.
The building will be completed by August 2010, and ready for the start of the school year in September.
Bowman Brothers of Newport is the general contractor.
Dale Rafford, project supervisor for Bowman Brothers, said he’s “pleased with where we’re at.”
“We were able to get some work done this winter that we weren’t expecting to,” he said. “I’m very happy with how things are going well, and we’re working with a lot of good people which makes a difference.”
The existing high school will be leveled in the fall of 2010 after the students are in the new building. Athletic fields will be constructed on the site of the existing high school. Johnson said the elementary school will not be dismantled and that discussions are now being conducted with Ashland Town Manager Jim Gardner for possible future use of the building by the town of Ashland.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
RECENT SUNNY WEATHER has been a welcomed change for crews working on the new pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school in Ashland. Foundation work that began last October is now complete, and steel is going up. Bowman Brothers of Newport is the general contractor, and the 90,000 square foot school will cost $21,937,928, of which $20,217,000 (91 percent) will be paid for by the state. The building will be completed by August 2010, and ready for the start of the school year in September.
