West Newsmagazine 7-19-17

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July 19, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I NEWS I 15
Rockwood fills summer calendar with renovations, STEM projects
By JESSICA MESZAROS
Summer is in full swing, but for Rockwood
district high schools, it’s crunch time
to wrap up major renovations.
The district’s four high schools are
undergoing renovations, including expanding
existing STEM [Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math] facilities at three locations
before Aug. 16.
STEM lab construction at Lafayette
High is underway on the second floor of
the school in the existing science space.
Construction crews are connecting the
northernmost section of the building with
an additional breezeway. Existing spaces
also have been renovated to accommodate
classrooms displaced by the new lab
spaces. According to Director of Facilities
Chris Freund, the approximate renovations
budget at Lafayette High is about $3.9 million
against the initial $68.95 million bond
issue [Prop 4] approved by voters in 2015.
A new building addition at Marquette
High will consist of four new STEM labs
on the third level, in addition to two new
classrooms split between the second and
third levels. Five existing classrooms will
be converted into two lab spaces.
The changes are scheduled to be completed
in three phases. Phase one is ready
for student and staff use in the 2017-18
school year. The contracted cost of phase
one improvements is about $5.1 million.
“The reason for the cost at Marquette High
is because it included a pretty significant
building addition,” Freund said. “The other
schools’ renovations are of existing space.”
At Rockwood Summit High, construction
crews are expanding the school’s
third level, adding STEM labs, prep rooms
and chemical storage space. Walls will be
reconfigured and the center section of the
second-level classrooms will be renovated
for new furniture and equipment, totaling
about $3.7 million, according to Freund.
At Eureka High, renovations for new
gymnasium A floors should be completed
close to the first day of classes. Other
locker room renovations, including construction
of a new weight room and new
lockers, have been completed using 2015
bond issue funding.
STEM additions, previously discussed
as part of the 2015 bond issue, ultimately
were rolled over into 2017’s Prop T and
consolidated into an entire STEM building
due to the December 2015 flood.
“When it comes to the STEM renovations
at Eureka High, we kind of rolled over that
portion of the project into Prop
T because the 2015 bond issue
was passed before the flooding,
which kind of changed our
plans,” Superintendent Dr. Eric
Knost said.
Plans also were influenced
by numerous housing developments
creating an enrollment
surge at the packed school.
“If you look down a hallway,
there are classrooms that have
two, three or four teachers that
teach in the same room throughout
the day,” Principal Charles Crouther
said, noting that class sizes are growing too
large for one teacher alone. “Some classrooms
share two nameplates and actually
have two teachers’ desks.”
About 1,850 students have enrolled so
far, without taking into consideration the
possible influx from upcoming housing
developments like the Arbors of Rockwood
and an additional 2,300 area homes
predicted in the next five years.
“We need to be ready for that influx of
enrollment, and this will give us plenty of
room to stretch out and be able to receive
all these new students in a very comfortable
fashion,” Crouther said.
Renovations are underway on the second and third floors
of Marquette High. [Photo courtesy of Rockwood School District]
The tentative construction date on the
two-story classroom and lab complex at
Eureka High is April 2018, with a projected
completion date of the 2019-20
school year. The most recently discussed
location would be on the northeast side,
near the commons area that was relatively
unaffected by 2015 and 2017 floods.
“We started asking, ‘OK, where is the
driest part of campus? What’s the biggest
part we have left?’” Knost said. “It’s something
we think better utilizes the campus
and allows us to roll the initial STEM
renovations into the science wing, plus we
get a second floor out of it for expanded
classroom space as our population grows.”
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