Construction has begun at three Delaware City Schools buildings that will add new class areas, bus loops and entrances.
Schultz Elementary School, Carlisle Elementary School, and Dempsey Middle School are all being renovated. The improvement projects are expected to be completed next year.
The Delaware City Schools Board of Education signed off on the three projects earlier this year, and the funds for the $12,494,700 contract with Adena Corporation came from the 2019 bond issue.
At Dempsey Middle School, the old technology building has been partially demolished this week and will be torn down to make way for a new two-story wing of classrooms.
The first floor of the wing will add a flex lab, a science lab, three classrooms, an orchestra room, and a storage room and practice rooms for the orchestra. The first floor will also add bathrooms. The second floor of the wing will add seven classrooms and another lab, as well as bathrooms and a mechanical room to support the new wing.
There will also be a small addition to the east side of the building to add bathrooms, a concession stand, and an outdoor storage area.
At Schultz Elementary School, the current office space will be renovated and expanded into the current music room, adding a number of offices for staff.
A wing of 10 new classrooms will be added on to the south side of Schultz. The new wing and the renovations to the existing south side of the building will accommodate fourth and fifth grade classes. The new wing at Schultz also includes a mechanical room and two intervention rooms, as well as boys and girls restrooms.
The kitchen at Schultz will also be expanded to add a freezer, cooler and storage space. This will allow the kitchen to serve as a prep kitchen and not just a warming kitchen.
The changes at Schultz also include adding a roadway connection between Cobblestone Drive and Penick Avenue. The roadway will connect to a new 12-bus capacity loop south of the school. The current bus loop will to become an additional pickup and dropoff loop for parents.
At Carlisle, the entrance and front offices are being reworked to create a secure entrance that does not allow visitors access to the school before checking in with the office. The current office will be renovated into two classrooms and a restroom, while an existing classroom on the east side of the building will be renovated into offices for school staff. The addition will be constructed where the courtyard next to the bus loop is now and will add offices, a clinic, a conference room, and a new vestibule.
Jason Sherman, director of facilities and transportation for the district,said while projects were not delayed because of the COVID-19 outbreak, it did take longer to get certain materials. Sherman added that construction at Carlisle was actually able to begin ahead of schedule because the building was unoccupied.
Sherman added construction at Carlisle should be finished early in 2021, and Dempsey and Schultz are scheduled to be completed summer of 2021.
