Summer is project season for schools’ facility staff, and this one kept crews busy across Eugene and Springfield.
While teachers and students won’t be stepping into any brand-new buildings when classes resume, they will encounter visible upgrades to classrooms and shared spaces , both indoors and outdoors.
Below are the building improvement highlights from the Bethel, Eugene 4J and Springfield districts.
Bethel
This summer, workers filled Bethel School District’s Danebo Elementary School as they installed air conditioning in classrooms, office spaces and the library. They also wrapped up the initial construction phases of a new gym and classroom addition on the south side of the building. The district expects the addition to be finished by the end of the school year. The project carries a $14 million price tag and ranks among the final large undertakings funded by Bethel’s nearly $100 million bond approved by voters in 2020.
Pat Bradshaw, Bethel’s bond manager, said crews will likely have Danebo’s multi-purpose room (formerly the gym) re-floored and the cafeteria improvements completed by the time students come on the first day.
The school’s exterior will also receive a fresh coat of paint and new sign. The old wooden sign featuring a Viking boat will move to the school’s cafeteria for preservation. Crews will install a digital sign in front of the building later in the fall.
Other Bethel improvements:
- Irving Elementary School: Classrooms and office spaces will now have air conditioning, and the school will have a newly renovated life skills classroom
- Meadow View School: Due to the closure of Shasta Middle School, life skills students who were formerly at Shasta will now be at Meadow View, requiring two new renovated classrooms for students with disabilities, as well as accessible bathrooms, changing tables and a fenced-off playground area. The school also received a new kitchen floor over the summer.
Eugene 4J
The district spent about $30 million in bond and capital project funds this summer to improve indoor and outdoor facilities. In addition to new security cameras in every building and parking lot improvements, highlights include:
- Air conditioning: Workers installed air-conditioning units in Awbrey Park, Buena Vista, Charlemagne, Edgewood, Spring Creek, Willagillespie and Twin Oaks elementary schools, as well as Kelly, Kennedy and Monroe middle schools. The work is not complete (installation won’t be done until next fall), but crews prioritized rooms where students spend most of their time.
- Playgrounds: Kids will see new equipment and playground shelters at Awbrey Park, Edgewood, McCornack and Willagillespie elementary schools. By the end of the summer, all elementary schools will have updated playground equipment and shelters after two years of work.
- Swede Johnson Stadium: North Eugene High School’s baseball stadium will have new seats and a fresh coat of paint.
- New track and gym surfaces: Arts and Technology Academy and Madison Middle School will have new rubberized track surfaces, and McCornack Elementary will have a new gym floor.
Springfield
Students at Thurston High School will get to see their newly renovated greenhouse when they return in September.
The Springfield Education Foundation granted the school $26,553 to refresh the greenhouse, which is used by multiple school groups and was built in the 1970s. Workers replaced the structure’s exterior walls and roof, improved electrical systems and ventilation, and installed year-round plumbing, an irrigation system and paved walkways to make the space more accessible.
In addition to starting wooden truss repairs, Springfield Public Schools made widespread security system upgrades this summer, budgeted to cost about $460,000. Maintenance teams also completed roof and fence repairs, bathroom stall upgrades and gym floor refinishing at various sites.
Other summer highlights included:
- Playground removal: Workers removed the playground at Springfield High School.
- Painting: Crews put a fresh coat of paint on classrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and offices at 12 schools.
- Sky Camp: Workers deep-cleaned and performed maintenance on the district’s event space located in Fall Creek.
- Silke Field concessions: Springfield High School’s football stadium concession stand will have a new counter.
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