RUSSELL —
The major renovation of Russell Middle School is almost complete, and Principal Sean Horne is relieved.
“The hard part is over. Last year with renovation going on all through a full year of school was not an easy thing to do, but we survived it,” Horne said.
Workers remodeled classrooms four at a time, two upstairs and two downstairs, in order to get the work done while school was going on, Horne said. That made juggling classrooms a necessity. One teacher moved five times, he said.
Workers spent the summer with the final stages of the $6 million renovation, completely replacing the kitchen, adding two new computer labs, remodeling the library and putting finishing touches on the exterior walls and windows, he said.
The result of the project, which started in 2011, is a school built in 1969 that looks brand new, Horne said.
The new exterior walls with large windows are heavily insulated for energy efficiency. An all new heating and cooling system replaces one so outmoded that repair parts were no longer available. Horne said the old system sounded like an airplane taking off whenever it started up.
The gymnasium is air conditioned for the first time and its floor was stripped, sanded and refinished.
There are new bathrooms adjacent to the cafeteria and gym that are publicly accessible, handy during games and other community events.
New lighting throughout makes the entire school brighter. A two-story entrance foyer was added at the front and the parking lot was reconfigured to add impact. “We wanted to have a wow factor,” Superintendent Susan Compton said.
Floors and ceilings were replaced, and intercoms, sprinklers and a new clock system were added. When the old floor-mounted classroom air conditioning units were removed, the school board authorized an additional $82,000 for shelving units to occupy the space, Compton said.
The renovation moved and expanded the administrative section of the building and included counseling offices, which previously had been in an isolated part of the building.
The project also includes a new roof.
Choosing to renovate rather than build a new school was a matter of necessity but may eventually result in an advantage to the district. Compton said new federal emphasis on educational needs may eventually bring federal dollars with it, and what the district really needs next is a new high school.
The district will have an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. today.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
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