Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students returned to several facility improvements as they went back to the classroom last week.
BCSC Director of Operations Brett Boezeman said the district made several updates to all 18 school buildings this summer, including camera upgrades, new door locks, landscaping, restroom renovations and flooring replacements.
But it is the larger scale projects students may be more apt to notice.
A crew from Dunlap & Co. is tearing apart what currently exists of the Clarence E. Robbins Auditorium at Columbus East High School to make way for new seating, improved acoustics, updated lighting and better accessibility.
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The project is a $3.8 million renovation of the 48-year old auditorium, funded by general obligation bonds approved by the school corporation in January 2018. As part of the renovation, the current 900 seats will be replaced with new, wider chairs — about 60 fewer — and the facility will also be made more accessible to individuals with disabilities with ramps at the sides to provide accessible paths to seating positions, side exit doors and the stage.
Boezeman said crews will remove the concrete that lay beneath the current flooring and replace it with a new sloped floor to meet the allowable maximum slopes permitted by building codes. The removal of the concrete is expected to take place on a Saturday when school is out of session to prevent disruption to the learning environment.
The auditorium renovation is expected to be completed by April 2020.
AAA Roofing is wrapping up its roof replacement at Taylorsville Elementary School. Nearly 86,500 square feet of roof was replaced this summer under a warranty after moisture was discovered within roof layers.
The roof was also equipped with insulation to increase the capacity to conserve energy within the building and was made solar panel-ready for the corporation’s energy savings project, which includes installing solar panels at Taylorsville Elementary and Northside Middle School.
In an effort to increase safety for students and school personnel, the corporation also made updates to security across its buildings.
Classroom doors at Columbus East and Columbus Signature Academy — Fodrea Elementary were equipped with new internal locking systems, which allow the door to be locked and unlocked from both the inside and outside.
The new system also includes a visual indicator that lets the classroom teacher know if the door is locked or unlocked. Boezeman said this allows the teacher to quickly look to see if the door is locked in an emergency. The corporation plans to install these door locks in all schools by Christmas, Boezeman said.
Additional “aiphones” were also installed at secondary entrances like loading docks and cafeteria entrances. These devices allow an operator to see the person who rang the bell through a camera and communicate with them before letting the person enter. The devices are already located at the front entrance of all the district’s buildings.
The district also installed 3M window film on all building windows.
“In the event if someone was denied entry or tried to gain entry into the building through a window, we have a film on the windows now that would prevent that individual from being able to enter from that method,” Boezeman said. “A pretty inexpensive add we could put into some places to add another layer of security.”
Other major infrastructure projects included a restoration of the Family and Consumer Sciences lab at Central Middle School, restroom renovations at Northside Middle School, an exterior power washing of Southside Elementary School and flooring updates at Schmitt, CSA Lincoln and Mt. Healthy elementary schools and the Early Education Center.
Boezeman said the entire capital projects fund balance last year was about $900,000, but that included more projects than he said he listed in his presentation to the school board Tuesday.
Columbus North and Columbus East high schools also received upgrades to athletic areas and exterior infrastructure, funded by 2018 Lease Rental Bond proceeds.
At North, summer projects included surfacing the track, renovating the concession stand, replacing windows in Memorial Gym, enhancing the exterior of the auditorium, replacing the long jump and pole vault and purchasing a new timing system for the track. The corporation will also install new pool touch pads and a scoreboard this fall.
At East, crews replaced exterior bricks, asphalt on the bus lot, the gym sound system and the third-floor chiller. East’s security camera server was also upgraded. The school’s student parking lot will be replaced this fall.
As the summer closes out, the district is already preparing to receive bids for three upcoming projects in September. The district will receive bids for its new soccer complex and transportation and maintenance renovation on Sept. 10 and ask the school board for approval on Sept. 23.
The energy savings project is divided into three sections. Bids to install LED lighting across all the corporation’s building will be taken in on Sept. 17 with the project tentatively scheduled to begin Oct. 14.
The district will receive bids on Oct. 25 for the installation of rooftop solar panels at Northside Middle School and Taylorsville Elementary. The project is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 29.
Mt. Healthy Elementary’s roof replacement is also listed as an energy savings project. The corporation will take bids for that project in January 2020 with construction slated to begin in May 2020.
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BCSC Soccer Complex and Transportation/Maintenance Renovation
- Advertise: Aug. 16
- Receive bids: Sept. 10
- Board approval: Sept. 23
Energy Savings Project: LED lighting
- Receive bids: Sept. 17
- Tentative project start date: Oct. 15
Energy Savings Project: Solar energy
- Receive bids: Oct. 25
- Tentative project start date: Nov. 29
Energy Savings Project: Mt. Healthy roof replacement
- Receive bids: January 2020
- Tentative project start date: May 2020
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