Antonia and Meramec Heights elementary schools will look very different in early 2023.
Preliminary work is under way at both schools, paving the way for an addition to be built at each building.
On Monday, May 9, district officials said more noticeable construction work is expected to begin within the coming weeks, and according to Board of Education documents, the work at the two schools is expected to be finished March 31, 2023.
S.M. Wilson & Co. in St. Louis was awarded a $13,357,000 contract to build the additions, and complete other work.
The projects will be funded with revenue from a $40 million bond issue voters approved in June 2020.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held April 14 at both Antonia Elementary School in Imperial and Meramec Heights Elementary in the Arnold area.
“It is extremely fun and energizing,” Fox C-6 School District Superintendent Paul Fregeau said about the start of construction. “It is that next step of everything coming to fruition. The kids will be able to watch the progress and the excitement will continue to build as the structures come out of the ground.”
Antonia
At Antonia Elementary, 3901 Old Hwy. M, 19,000 square feet of classroom and library space will be added.
In addition, S.M. Wilson will replace the heating, ventilation and air-condition system in the school’s kindergarten wing and add fencing on the property, board documents show.
“This will greatly transform this school,” Antonia Elementary Principal Mark Rudanovich said. “ This addition will give us the entrance that we have always dreamed of. It will give us a library, art room, outdoor commons and classrooms that just don’t exist right now. It will beautify the front of our building. It will help with our parent-drop-off situation. It will help our special education rooms that are currently on a lower level in smaller classrooms. This will give them full-sized classrooms with state-of-the-art facilities for them to use for our kids.
“To be able to walk into a new entrance and have a commons area with room for our kids to congregate is something we have been waiting for, too.”
For the recent groundbreaking, every student, teacher and staff member gathered at the school’s south end near the playground and athletic field, where the addition will be constructed.
Seven third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students shoveled the first piles of dirt to celebrate the start of construction that began the week of April 19 and will extend through the 2022-2023 school year. Rudanovich said each classroom nominated a student to shovel, and then a drawing was held to pick the seven students who shoveled the dirt.
“We are just excited. It is a re-energizing for the school,” Rudanovich said. “We are thankful to the voters, community, superintendent, board members and the people doing the construction on this addition. It is for the kids. You can see the excitement they have to make their school a better place.”
Meramec Heights
Meramec Heights will grow by 26,000 square feet as classrooms, offices and a new cafeteria are added to the building at 1340 W. Outer Road. The school’s art and music classrooms will be renovated, too. Additional paving will be added, and an outdoor drinking fountain will be installed.
Like at Antonia Elementary, construction at Meramec Heights began the week of April 19 and is expected to extend through the 2022-20233 school year.
“It will be completely transformational,” Meramec Heights Principal Dustin Bain said. “The word that we have associated with the project is efficiency. Safety-wise, we will be more efficient, and we will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. The way the building will lay, it will have a natural circle to it, and it will be easier for us to get to different places in the building. The upgrades will make us efficient.”
The addition will be constructed on the east side of the campus, and Bain said it will not disrupt the current or upcoming school year.
Bain said he selected eight students – fifth-grade and kindergarten students – to shovel dirt at the Meramec Heights groundbreaking,
“I picked some fifth-graders because they have been here since kindergarten and have been part of this process from its inception,” he said. “I also had some kindergartners to signify the beginning of their journey, and my hope is they will get the full enjoyment of this project.”
In addition, former Meramec Heights students Kara Ariola, Rachel Daniels, Stephanie Andrews, Kristin Kuepfert and Amy Kleissle, who now work at the school, and Board of Education member April Moeckel got to shovel some dirt at the groundbreaking.
The two projects are special to Moeckel as a former Meramec Heights student and the mother of a current fourth-grader, Luke, 10, at Antonia Elementary. Her other children – Grace, 11, a sixth-grader at Antonia Middle; Dean, 16, a sophomore at Seckman High; and Olivia, 17, a junior at Seckman High – also attended Antonia Elementary.
“It is really exciting to see everything from when I started in kindergarten here (Meramec Heights) and my son has one more year at Antonia, and we are seeing everything moving along,” Moeckel said. “It is inspiring.”
Prop P
Along with the renovations at Antonia and Meramec Heights elementary schools, the district will use revenue from the $40 million bond issue to build a classroom addition at Seckman Middle School, as well as a new library and a new instructional wing at Fox High School.
Money from the bond issue also is being used to improve security at all school buildings; complete paving projects at all buildings; upgrade playgrounds at elementary schools; upgrade the kitchen equipment and flooring at multiple schools; and replace obsolete electric service and water lines at the Fox and Seckman campuses.
Fregeau said he is excited that voters can see their money at work.
“It is one step in, hopefully, rebuilding trust between the school district and the community. We are being transparent with how we are spending the money, and we are doing things to take care of our kids and staff. We have a lot of needs, and this is a nice step in the right direction to address a lot of those needs.”