“Everything is moving along nicely, and we are on track to open in the fall for the 2023-24 school year,” said Superintendent John Kronour.
Over the last few months, the flooring has gone in throughout the building, including tiling in the bathrooms and kitchen, terrazzo in the lobby and hardwood floors in the gyms.
The vestibules for the entrances have gone in, and the doors are installed. Cabinets have been installed throughout the building, and most rooms have furniture, with some pieces still being put together. Most recently, the lines and graphics on the auxiliary gym have been completed, but the bleachers still need to be installed.
Kronour said they should get temporary occupancy in June.
“As we finish up in our other buildings, we’ll be moving over teacher materials and so on. The teachers will be able to get in and start setting up their rooms and putting everything away, hopefully by the first of August,” he said.
The construction project was previously roughly $4 million under budget, which did not include an extra $1 million that was put in reserve, but the project is still ongoing and not all decisions have been made.
If the project remains under budget, Kronour said the funds are slated for turf fields and tracks for both schools, a support building around the Northeastern Athletic Complex, stands and a press box at Kenton Ridge, shelter houses at both schools and additional playground equipment at both buildings.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
A “one last look” open house event was held on Tuesday for the Kenton Ridge High School, Northridge Middle and Elementary Schools, and Rolling Hills Elementary School buildings. The event attracted crowds of former students at each building.
Both Kenton Ridge and Northeastern high schools will be demolished at a later date, and a decision had not yet been made about Northridge and Rolling Hills.
A building dedication and ribbon-cutting for the new Kenton Ridge is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 2250 Montego Drive.
The district built a new campus for Northeastern for about $42 million. The two new campuses cost nearly $120 million, with the state picking up about 40% of the cost.
The district combined several school buildings into the two new buildings, including Northeastern High and Middle School, Kenton Ridge High School, Northridge Middle and Elementary School, Rolling Hills Elementary and South Vienna.
The Kenton Ridge site will open this fall on the property near the current Kenton Ridge High School. and the Northeastern site opened last fall on the northeastern side of the district, adjacent to former South Vienna school.
Voters approved a 37-year, $79 million bond issue for two new Pre-K-through-12 facilities in May 2018. In addition, the state will contribute 40%, or $40 million, to the project through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, bringing the total cost of the two schools to nearly $120 million.
About the Author
