School construction underway in Quincy
Submitted photo Crews start moving dirt on the first day of construction at George Elementary. It’s the first phase of an extensive construction and remodeling project for the Quincy School District.
QUINCY — They’ve started excavating at George Elementary, the first step in a two-year construction project that will mean huge changes for Quincy schools.
District patrons approved a $103.8 million bond in February. The bond includes a new Quincy High School and conversion of the existing high school into a middle school. The existing Quincy Junior High will be converted into an elementary school.
Eight classrooms and a gym will be added at George Elementary. Monument and Pioneer elementary schools will get new gyms.
“We’re rocking and rolling,” said district superintendent John Boyd. The goal is to complete the classrooms at George by August 2017, in time for the start of school, Boyd said. The elementary gyms are scheduled for completion by December 2017 or early January 2018.
“We took on a lot, but we had to because of our size,” Boyd said. Quincy is growing, with classes from the kindergarten through fifth grade averaging 250 students. “Sort of a wave of kids,” he said.
The current Quincy Junior High will be completely remodeled into an elementary school. The building dates back three-quarters of a century and has been remodeled frequently. “It’s got a wonky layout,” Boyd said. As a result the entire interior will remodeled, with a new heating-cooling system, a new playground, and rebuilding from the studs out. “Complete conversion to an elementary school,” Boyd said. “It will be a new building.”
Construction will be completed the same time as the new high school, August 2019, in time for the new school year.
The high school design is still a work in progress. “Currently we’re in the design development stage,” Boyd said.
The new QHS will be two stories, which is typical in contemporary school construction, Boyd said. “It just tends to be better when you stack (stories).” The new QHS will have room for about 1,000 students, with the potential to add more classrooms.
Architects and district officials have sponsored two community forums for district patrons, to find out what they want in a new high school, and have consulted with QHS teachers and administrators. One more meeting, to give people a look at the preliminary design, will be scheduled sometime in January, Boyd said.
The current QHS needs some upgrades, Boyd said, and the project includes money for that, along with upgrades at all district schools.
When the project is completed the elementary schools will be converted to kindergarten through fifth grade, Boyd said. The new middle school will be sixth through eighth grade.
“It’s really, really emotional and it’s exciting,” Boyd said. District officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at George Elementary, and “just putting the shovels in the ground at George really brought it home for us.”
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.