A month into the school year, many of the new amenities from the Warren County R-III $10 million bond project have been put to the test.

The board received an update regarding the construction from Wade Welch during its monthly meeting on Sept. 14.

It is anticipated that work on the new multipurpose gymnasium at the high school will not be completed until December, with hopes it will be ready for full use by winter sports team at the start of the second semester.

“The masonry work has progressed to a point where it’s almost complete on the interior and they have started the veneer work on the exterior,” said Welch. “They are making some excellent progress.”

It is anticipated the new gym floor will be poured as early as this week.

The new entrances at four of the schools have had an evaluation period, and the new drop-off drive at Daniel Boone Elementary has proven particularly helpful.

“The new entrance has been a fantastic improvement for pickups and drop offs,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Aaron Jones. “Parents have done a nice job of making adjustments to were they pick up and drop off students.”

The high school, Rebecca Boone Elementary and Warrior Ridge Elementary also each received new security vestibules. Presently, the high school requires visitors to ring the buzzer and pass through three sets of doors before reaching the office. Jones says there may adjustment to that system.

The work to the entrance at Black Hawk Middle School that was delayed is progressing toward completion. Unforeseen barriers had been discovered during the digging process and required additional preparatory work, preventing the project from being completed by the beginning of the school year. 

“All of the construction to the new entrance at Black Hawk should be completed soon, and then we’ll have our crew go in and wax floors and get office furniture all set up,” said Jones. “Our hope is to have a grand opening on Oct. 2.”

The high school saw a significant amount of upgrades, including new heating and air conditioning ventilation systems and a new concrete parking lot on the southwest corner of the building. 

Additional parking in back of high school has allowed teachers and staff to park there during the day opening up a lot more around the circle. That made more parking available for visitors in the circle.

Contractors were in the building over the first several weeks of school making adjustments to the HVAC systems.

“Crews were in there the first couple days of school,” said Jones. “It did take a few days to get the systems balanced, and we had to replace one unit at the high school due to manufacturer flaws.”

Construction on the new multipurpose gymnasium at Warrenton High School has continued. Record photo/ Derrick Forsythe.