SMS construction project rolling along

Sisters Middle School will be a different place when it opens for classes this September.

The middle school has been the focus of the school district's bond-related construction through the summer. From repairs to the parking lot and a new paint job to remodeling of the commons and a fire system upgrade, the school, originally opened in 1992, is getting significant improvements.

The most obvious changes for the public are at the entry of the school. An entirely new, secure entryway with controlled doors and cameras is being constructed at the center of the front façade of the building. The old entries will be locked after school starts, so any visitor to the school will have to come through a single, controlled entry point.

The construction team removed the school's giant diesel storage tanks, moving to a more efficient liquid propane heating system. The gym floor was sanded out and refinished and the facility repainted.

Project Manager Brett Hudson led a small tour of the project on Monday afternoon. He and school board member and bond oversight committee member Jay Wilkins noted that the district has been able to do more work - including extra painting and system upgrades - thanks to additional funds that added to the original $10.7 million approved by Sisters voters in

2014.

The district caught a "tailwind" in selling the bonds, earning additional money to the tune of nearly $1 million from favorable market timing. In addition to that, Sisters was awarded $4 million in state grants.

In adding scope to the original project, Wilkins said, the district went back to the intent of the bill that provided for the grant funding, trying to create "more efficient, better educational facilities (with a) longer lifespan. Safety, obviously, became a big emphasis."

With a construction boom underway across the region, demand for tradesmen and materials has been high. Scheduling the trades has been a challenge, Hudson said.

"That's been the toughest part to manage," he said.

While the school is one big construction site now, in the second week of August, the school district expects everything to be ready for class in September.

"This time next week, there'll be a pretty impressive change from what you see today," Hudson said. "But the race is on... It's going to be a push - but all of these summer projects are."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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