Vicksburg Community Schools will be at the center of a comprehensive construction season this summer.
During their Feb. 10 meeting, VCS Board of Education members approved bids for $4.2 million worth of work. Upgrades and improvements will take place in various forms at each of the district’s five school buildings.
Assistant Superintendent Steve Goss said the work is being funded from the district’s millage request approved by its voters five years ago. Previous work has included mechanical and electrical upgrades, according to Frederick Construction project manager Chad Kandow. He said the impending tasks will be easier to notice.
“This (upcoming work) is getting to some of the finishes that are very much needed and the stuff you actually see,” he said. “It’s big-impact stuff.”
Considering the summertime construction schedule is such a short period, Kandow said the high school flooring project will be split into two seasons. Lower-level classroom and hallway flooring is to be completed this summer and the balance in 2026. Bids in excess of $1.5 million for flooring demolition and replacement were approved and, in addition to the high school, will include work at the middle school and hallways at Sunset Lake Elementary.
The high school is also due for an overhaul to its bathrooms. The scope includes new urinals, toilets, toilet partitions, sinks and flooring. Vape detectors will also be added there as well as at the middle school.
Kandow detailed several additional improvements at the district’s other schools. Projects include painting, plumbing and mechanical improvements, and electrical upgrades.
“It’s a massive undertaking but it’s been thought through and talked through with all the contractors,” Kandow said, noting that new chairs and desks are on their way to all five buildings, too. “That’s to work in conjunction with all the new floors so we don’t damage the floors with the wrong slides on the bottom of the chairs and we’re not scratching stuff up.”
Goss reiterated the short window of time construction crews have to complete their work. He added levity to the situation by citing a personal anecdote.
“I think about a few renovations I’ve been trying to get done at home that are going on a year now and it’s ridiculous,” he said, drawing a chorus of laughter from the audience. “But, the amount of work put into the due diligence of making sure we’ve got good contractors, everybody understands the scope and how easily one contractor getting off schedule affects everybody else. I cannot thank our partners enough for what they do to make sure all that happens.”
In all, nine different bid packages were approved. The balance of the work will center on the high school and middle school. District officials said work will begin immediately upon the conclusion of the current school year, June 6.
In other action, the board approved an eighth-grade field trip to Cedar Point. The trip is June 9. Out-of-pocket cost is $125 per student.
