The $15.5 million expansion and renovation project at Ireton and Hawarden Elementary School is still in progress.
West Sioux School District Superintendent Steve Grond stated that after speaking with the contractors, everything is on track.
This summer, both locations will see a significant amount of construction work. Both schools are currently being renovated by construction crews.
“In Ireton we have some milestones that we hope to reach this week, if they can get to the painting in certain areas they feel like they are on target and they felt pretty good,” Grond told me. “A couple of the crews planned to bring in extra workers to complete the jobs. We’re cautiously optimistic about the progress on that one.”
Grond reported that a lot of dirt work has been done on the east side of the Ireton school, where the new classroom wing will be built. Grond stated that it is unfortunate, but the district will lose some trees due to the various levels required for expansion.
Grond is pleased with the progress being made at Hawarden Elementary.
“They’ve made a lot of progress. There’s a lot to be done, but they’re making great progress,” Grond stated.
Sheetrock has been hung, and classroom updates are progressing well.
“We’ll probably end up just having the flat walls there, unless we want to do that at a later time,” Grond told me. “Texturing, they didn’t include it in the original bid and that would’ve been about another $26,000 so we can make that decision later on.”
Window installation is also underway at Hawarden Elementary.
At the July meeting, board president Larry Gregg inquired as to when the old boiler building in Hawarden would be demolished.
Crews are prioritizing what needs to be done first, so the demolition of the boiler building has been postponed in favor of renovating and remodeling the classrooms so that West Sioux students and staff can begin the 2025-26 school year on time.
School registration is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13. Families who are unable to attend during that time may contact the school secretary at their child’s building after that date to schedule a registration appointment.
