The following is an update that Waverly-Shell superintendent Ed Klamfoth sent to parents in the district regarding the new elementary building and the renovations projects in Shell Rock and at the High School:
In December 2019, Waverly-Shell Rock schools began the process of considering a long-range facilities plan, looking to address the needs of both today and tomorrow. A design team was brought on to assist in that process, and a community task force was created to provide the design team and the district with some direction. The primary task of the community group was in helping to identify the most urgent needs, as well as those that would be requiring attention in the future. The work of the task force culminated with a recommendation to the school board to move forward immediately with a bond vote to provide funds to build two new elementary buildings in Waverly to replace the three existing structures, and to provide some renovations to Shell Rock Elementary and the high school. Immediately following the successful bond vote this past March the district began working steadily with architects and engineers to plan for the new construction and renovations. Members of the design team from Invision Architects have met with groups of elementary and high school students, teachers, support staff, and building administrators on multiple occasions over the last few months. There was also a meeting with elementary parents which provided some great information and perspective for the design team. In addition, there is a standing weekly meeting with me. These conversations have been primarily for the purpose of gathering information, wanting to clearly understand what’s needed in our buildings in order to best serve our students. In order to gain some perspective about what’s possible and what might be needed at Waverly-Shell Rock, there have also been tours made by staff of new elementary buildings in different Iowa communities. From these experiences and conversations an initial design is emerging and becoming more and more refined as additional feedback is received. In looking ahead, a final design will be created. Once that’s done, we can look at bidding the project. It’s likely that bids for some smaller, isolated portions of these projects (e.g., kitchen equipment, elevators) will happen sometime this fall. The majority of the bidding will take place in the January—March time frame, with construction beginning late spring or early summer of next year. If all goes as planned, we will have students in the new buildings in the fall of 2023. As many of you are aware, there are challenges related to construction in our current environment. Labor and material shortages, supply chain issues, and more are all having an impact that is not positive for the consumer. The group we’re working with is keeping a constant eye on those things on our behalf so that we can stay within budget and on time. That said, as much as we hope to be in the new buildings to start the 2023 school year, we won’t know for certain until we go to bid. Timing for renovations at Shell Rock and the high school is a little more nebulous. Some of the updates may be able to be accomplished piecemeal, done over the summers or allowing the students stay in place in parts of the building while work is done elsewhere. Alternatively, especially in the case of Shell Rock, it may require that the students be transported elsewhere for a period of time so that the work can be done more efficiently. We’ll know more as we continue to refine the plans for these buildings.It’s a busy and exciting time as we work through this process. While time-intensive, we have just one chance to get it right, which is certainly our intention.