Issues being handled as USD 234 bond projects continue

The USD 234 Board of Education received another update Monday on timelines for completion of school bond projects still underway at all district schools.

Robby Manthei, project manager for Nabholz Construction Services of Olathe, shared information on when certain areas are planned to be turned over to the schools, as well as some issues workers have run into on the projects.

Manthei said workers have fixed some electrical issues they have encountered and are making corrections as they go along.

Manthei said the new administration area at Winfield Scott School should be turned over to the district by next week. This would make projects at that school complete with the exception of some punch list items.

At Fort Scott Middle School, Nabholz is looking at the first of the year for completion on the high-wind shelter and flexible learning spaces at that school. Manthei said Eugene Ware School has been "mainly turned over" with the gym and stage project lacking completion but work is progressing with a goal of completion by Jan. 1.

Next on the list at Fort Scott High School is completion of the new science wing and administration area. Manthei said workers have run into some issues with sinks in science classrooms. He said new math rooms constructed at the high school are being used.

Manthei said workers are also addressing leaky roofs in some school buildings as work progresses. At last month's board meeting, Manthei and board members discussed water issues and leaks found on existing roofs at Winfield Scott and the high school after heavy rainfall. The two areas hit hardest by rain were the kindergarten wing at Winfield Scott and an area where new construction is taking place at the high school.

"We're doing patchwork to mitigate leaking throughout the district," he said Monday.

The major leaks at those two schools have been addressed. Manthei said there is a need for a new roof at Winfield Scott.

"At the middle school, not so much," he said.

Last month, the board decided to dispatch the contractor selected to do roofing work for the bond projects to move leaks to the top of the priority list so those issues could be fixed soon. USD 234 Superintendent Bob Beckham said at the time the "major issues" were found at Winfield Scott and the high school. He said they were "new leaks to the district where construction is taking place, not new areas."

Manthei said at that meeting that the contractor still had full contingency in place. He said he was not sure if the leak issues were related to new construction.

Beckham has said the leaks at the high school were a "timing issue" and there would be no additional cost. He said workers did not have time to install a roof where the new administration wing attaches to the existing structure. He said school officials were checking into the warranty on the roof at Winfield Scott to determine the cost of repairs.

USD 234 Business Manager Gina Shelton said the bond budget did not include money for new roofs throughout the district.

"Some of the roofs are just bad," she said. "The priority is roofs that didn't get covered in the bond."

Manthei said renovations to the auditorium at the high school should start after the Thanksgiving holiday. Improvements include new seating, new sound, technology and electrical systems, and a partial re-work of the ceiling. The timeline for completion of the auxiliary gymnasium is now late December or early next year.

Manthei has said the goal is to have all bond projects completed by summer 2017.