With students out of school for the summer for nearly two weeks, Big Horn County School District No. 2 isn’t wasting any time, beginning construction on many summer projects ranging from maintenance and painting projects to large-scale facility remodeling.
A remodel of Lovell Elementary School will be the big project of the summer, according to Supt. of Schools Dan Coe. Construction is under way on the $1.2 million project, which is funded by the School Facilities Commission, to include electrical upgrades, new interior ceilings, new lights and fixtures and 13 new heating/air conditioning units installed on the roof.
Facilities Director Ron Massine said the electrical system must be upgraded to accommodate the new HVAC system. Seven small Carrier HVAC units will be installed above each room in the 1950s wing of LES and six larger units will be installed at other locations to provide heat, air conditioning and ventilation to multiple rooms.
The combined units will replace a 1950s boiler and original ventilators, which aren’t functioning properly, Massine said. The new units will burn natural gas and deliver heat through a downdraft system. Air conditioning will be a first at LES, with funding recently made available by the SFC for air conditioning projects. One room that will remain without AC is the cafeteria, Coe said.
The ceiling and old ductwork is being removed this week and new ducts will be installed for the new system soon, Massine said.
New T-8 lights and fixtures will also be installed this summer at LES, Massine said. The new bulbs are half the size and require half the power of the existing lights, Massine said, while producing the same amount of light. 2½–foot by 5-foot ceiling tiles will be replaced with 2x4 tiles, he  said.
Funding for the LES project was obtained after the SFC approved a funding request in March. The project was included in the district wide facility plan, which the district updates every two years, Coe said.
The district is submitting a separate project for approval by the SFC for a new parking lot at LES to be constructed where the old high school once was. Coe said, if the project is approved, funding could be obtained as early as July. He said the project probably wouldn’t be finished before the start of the school year, but it would likely at least be graveled by wintertime.
Other summer
projects
Summer projects being funded by the SFC through the district’s major maintenance fund include:
•A four-foot concrete barrier around the perimeter of the track to keep gravel off the track. Workman Brothers of Lovell is the contractor on the project, which is scheduled to begin this month.
•Re-graveling high school parking lots and the alleyway south of the football field and enlarging parking to include an area on the west side of the high school near the football field.
•Eliminate parking in the front of the high school to provide for a safer enviroment for bus and pedestrian traffic. A few visitor spots will remain in the front.
•Removing dugouts and lighting from the baseball field at Caboose Park. Massine said the dugouts are beginning to crack because of shifting earth and the light poles are beginning to rot and some of the lights have been broken loose by strong winds. He said the dugouts and light poles are being removed because of the district’s concern for safety. The baseball field will continue to be open for use.
•Updating drinking fountains to be ADA/handicap-accessible.
•Painting the interior of the gymnasium and the interior of the LHS shop.
LHS remodel update
The board of trustees’ request to use major maintenance money for planning of the LHS remodel project was denied in late April. Coe said the district must wait for the SFC to re-prioritize projects around the state, which could happen as early as August. The district may not get an answer from the SFC as to whether the LHS remodel project is on the list until the spring of 2010, after the legislative session.
Coe and Massine thanked the public for their patience while some of the district buildings are closed during construction. LES will be closed throughout the summer and summer school will be held at Lovell Middle School. The gym will be closed for the month of June during painting, but the pool will remain open. Cement is scheduled to be poured this week, and walkers are asked to stay off the track until construction is complete.