Plans to shift the district’s third grade students from Festus Elementary to Festus Intermediate for the upcoming school year remain on track, Superintendent Nicki Ruess reported at the May 21 Board of Education meeting.
Ruess spoke of the matter during her facilities report, saying that a nearly $5 million construction project at Festus Intermediate, 1501 Mid-Meadow Lane, to add an approximately 10,500 square-foot addition to house the third grade classes is expected to be ready when 2026-2027 school year classes begin Aug. 24.
“The new wing will be ready,” Ruess said. “The third grade will move to the Intermediate this August. I’ve been calling it the Intermediate classroom expansion, and it’s a third-grade wing.
“It’s still on budget. It’s all good.”
She said significant progress has been made on the addition.
“The Intermediate is looking beautiful,” Ruess said. “The classrooms are just about complete. As soon as we get them, we’ll get the whiteboards up and make them look like classrooms. I just like the case work in there. I think it turned out so good.
“Now that (the 2025-2026 school year) is over, they’ll start rolling on the playground here shortly. So, you should see some work being done.”
The Intermediate building construction project has also included renovations to its existing lower level.
She said the shift of the third grade moves 283 students to the Intermediate building.
The project began in the spring of 2025 after the Board of Education chose Brockmiller Construction of Farmington, whose $4,976,990 bid was the lowest of five, to build the addition.
The Intermediate addition construction project follows a $7,574,900 addition built onto Festus Middle School, 1717 W. Main St., which opened in August 2025. That addition allowed the district to shift its sixth grade from the Intermediate School to the Middle School.
Ruess said the move of the sixth grade to the Middle School went smoothly.
“The transition of sixth grade to Festus Middle School this year has been overwhelmingly positive, with strong support from students, staff and families,” she said. “That success gives us great confidence as we prepare to welcome third grade to the Festus Intermediate School next year and continue creating positive learning environments.”
Brockmiller also won the Middle School addition project with a low bid.
Ruess said the major construction projects are needed to meet the needs of the district’s growing population.
She said that after the grade shifts are completed, the district’s 2026-027 student enrollments are estimated (because students may still move into and out of the district) at the following numbers:
■ Festus Elementary will now be kindergarten through second grade and will have about 730 students;
■ Festus Intermediate will now contain the third, fourth and fifth grades, and will have about 817 students;
■ Festus Middle School will now have the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, and will have about 798 students;
■ Festus High School houses freshmen through seniors and will have about 986 students.
The additions at the Middle School and Intermediate School are a couple of the district projects funded with revenue from a 59-cent tax increase voters approved in April 2019.
In other business, board members agreed to move their June meeting to the fourth Thursday, 7 p.m. June 25, to give staff more time to finalize the district’s fiscal year 2027 budget. The board normally meets on the third Thursday.