Buckeye Valley’s superintendent said pre-construction for the two new elementary buildings will begin soon and names for the buildings have been narrowed down.
“Some pre-construction site work will be happening in January and February for both buildings,” said Andrew Miller, superintendent. “Subcontractor bidding is planned for February and construction for mid-March.”
One part of the project began at the end of November with the demolition of the 100-year-old Radnor School building. The building and debris has all now been removed.
During an open house in October, Justine Santschi, president of the board of education, said the old school building had been offered to Radnor Township, but it chose not to take it because of the high cost of maintenance. She said the space where the building stood would become a green space for the Radnor community.
The open house was held to give the Buckeye Valley community a chance to tour the building one last time.
Lynette Rice, spokesperson for the school district, said, “Many of the items from the building were donated to the Radnor Historical Society and are now on display.”
Miller said the district has attempted to keep the community involved in every aspect of the two new elementary schools. The district asked the local communities to help with the naming of the buildings. He said the names have been narrowed down to four pairs of names now.
“We will be sending out a link to the community shortly that has a rationale for the names as well as an opportunity to vote for your top choice,” he said. “Once the voting has concluded the facilities advisory committee will review the info and decide the next steps.”
Miller said earlier that about 50 names had been submitted. “Most of them centered around historical figures from the area and the waterways around the school district,” he said.
Construction of the two new schools was made possible by passage of a $31.25 million bond issue November 2015. The issue passed by two votes. The goal is to complete the project in time for the 2018-19 school year, said school officials.
In other district business:
• During an organizational meeting on Jan. 3 Justine Santschi was named president of the Board of Education for the 2017 year and Justin Osborn was chosen vice president.
• The board approved H & A Mechanical to replace the middle school HVAC system. The project was not to exceed $2.2 million.
