With 28 rain days since construction started late last year on the $3.5 million Vineland Elementary addition, the project has been delayed, the De Soto Board of Education learned Thursday (May 19).
Patrick Lawlor of Lawlor General Contracting told the board he expects much of the work to be finished by mid-August, the original target for completion, but some projects won’t be finished until after students return to school.
“He thinks all the classrooms and restrooms will be done (by the students’ return),” Superintendent Trish Burkeen said. “They will continue to work on the gym floor and the bleachers after school starts.”
The school, at 650 Vineland School Road, houses students from kindergarten through sixth grade and has an enrollment of 953.
The project is being funded with revenue from a $9.5 million bond issue approved by voters in April 2015.
Lawlor General Contracting of St. Louis is the general contractor for the project, which includes five new classrooms; a new gymnasium with increased court space; gym seating for events; an additional elevator to access all floors; renovated restrooms and storage areas; conversion of the old gym into a library with a media lab; renovation of the old library to house the special services program; and removal of a food services modular building.
District officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Dec. 15 and the mild winter allowed significant progress on the project through the winter, officials reported.
However, the rainy spring has slowed the construction.