ROGERS -- The Rogers School District will spend a total of up to $16.9 million to renovate two of its oldest elementary schools in projects set to begin this summer.
The cost will be up to $8.2 million for work to be done at Northside Elementary and up to $8.6 million for Lowell Elementary.
A third school, Westside Elementary, also is scheduled for a major renovation starting this summer. The Westside project price is not ready, said Charles Lee, assistant superintendent for general administration, at a School Board meeting Tuesday. He said he expects the Westside cost to be similar to that of the other two projects.
Northside, Westside and Lowell are all more than 50 years old. District officials said they wanted to give each building a more modern look, upgrade safety features and replace such things as heating and air-conditioning systems.
Lowell Elementary's project is scheduled to take about 15 months. The plan includes expanding the cafeteria and adding a large canopy at the front entrance with the school's name on it. The building's exterior, which consists of five different colors of brick because of various additions to the building over time, will get a uniform color, Lee said.
The job at Northside is scheduled to take about 11 months. The biggest feature will be adding office space to the building's front end. The office is now down the hallway from the main entrance, which is not ideal from a safety perspective, Lee said.
A lot of planning and design work has gone into the projects, Superintendent Marlin Berry said.
"It's more than just a little bit of a makeover. It's significant at each of these buildings," Berry said at the School Board meeting Tuesday.
Some preliminary work has been done at the schools during winter and spring breaks, so the projects are ready to begin as soon as the schools empty for summer, Lee said. Each of the projects is being handled by a different pairing of construction managers and architects.
Money for all three projects will come from the district's building fund, said Jake Haak, chief financial officer.
Metro on 04/25/2019