Joyce Coates
County Reporter
August 22 is the first day of school for the Lincoln R-II public school district. Students, teachers and parents will notice the progress made since construction began on the project voters approved last year.
On April 5, 2022, Superintendent of R-II school district, Kevin Smith, thanked the community via Facebook for voting that day to pass Proposition Cardinals. “Our kids and community will all benefit.”
Indeed, by the votes of 11%, that is, 297 out of the total 2,651 of those registered to vote on R-II issues, the entire community benefits.
“I have heard from many community members since the election. Every comment has been very positive. There is a lot of excitement about the additional space we have needed for many years,” Smith said.
Construction began in February this year. The project is on schedule to be completed by August of 2024 in time to open the doors of the new facility for the 2024-2025 school year.
Repayment terms of the bond issue to fund the construction have not changed; that is, 20 years with no tax increases. Smith noted the “great working relationship” the district has with LJ Hart and Company that handled the bond sales. “The district can feel at ease knowing that everything is being taken care of properly,” he said. Bond sales generated $6,300,000 in revenue for the project, more than the $6,000,000 expected.
The Enterprise article about Proposition Cardinals published March 31, 2022, reported at length on the scope of the construction project. Parent activists promoting the project envisioned the new gymnasium would enable “early access to sports training for children… starting from kindergarten and up through 6th grade” on the one hand, while also creating space necessary to allow junior and high school members of various sports teams to practice on a regular basis during the daytime.
In addition, parents and teachers looked forward to the new preschool and special services classrooms being located within the main building and out of the mobile buildings. Students would no longer have to walk back and forth every day between the mobile buildings and the main building during inclement weather. In fact, progress in that regard has already been made. Construction at the main elementary hallway to weld the new portion of the building to the existing one was ongoing at the beginning of this month.
As a result, as announced August 1 on the school’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LHSCards/) kindergarten orientation was delayed until August 14 and 15.
Construction projects bring some temporary inconveniences and some changes to routines. The Facebook page for Proposition Cardinals posted on February 23 about the beginning of construction, and gave advance notice that parking and after school pickup during the construction period would be changed.
The same site provides views of the Site Plan, the Floor Plan, and renderings of the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest exteriors of the new building.
Superintendent Smith summarized the positive impact the completed construction project will have for the school community:
• The new addition will allow the district to remove all of our mobile units and put everyone in a brick and mortar building;
• Our students will have updated technology in the computer lab;
• There will be a new Art Room, Weight Room, and Pre-School;
• The gymnasium will allow additional time for our youth programs for practice and to host bigger events.
“We are very excited for our new addition, and cannot thank the community enough for all their support.”
