Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SD U-46 marks groundbreaking on $57 million Kimball Middle School expansion in Elgin
Summary
School district leaders marked a groundbreaking for an addition and renovation at Kimball Middle School that district officials say will add about 53,000 square feet, renovate roughly 30,000 square feet and support a shift of sixth graders into middle school under the district's Unite U-46 plan.
SD U-46 officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at Kimball Middle School in Elgin to mark the start of a planned addition and renovation the district says will cost more than $57 million and add roughly 53,000 square feet of new space.
A district staff member said the project will include "a new cafetorium, so no more eating downstairs," an updated gym, classrooms, science labs and about 30,000 square feet of renovations to existing classrooms and administrative spaces. "Construction already started. It actually started last week over spring break and will continue throughout the school year with our priority being to disrupt instruction as minimally as possible," the same staff member said.
The project is part of the district's Unite U-46 facilities plan, which the district says enables a policy change to move sixth graders from elementary schools into middle schools. "The addition and the renovation here at Kimball Middle School is a big piece of our Unite U-46 facilities work and, rolling our sixth graders out of our elementary schools into the middle schools," a district staff member said. The district told listeners the expanded building will be able to house three "teams" in each of sixth, seventh and eighth grades; under the middle-school "teaming" model students are grouped into smaller grade-level teams of about 100 to 150 students who share a core group of teachers.
An event speaker noted community ties to the school and referenced Senator Castro as a Kimball alum. "Our neighborhoods are growing. Elgin is strong, resilient, and a great place to raise a family. And Kimball is growing to meet the needs of Elgin kids," the speaker said.
District presenters described the expansion as both an instructional and equity investment. "Today's groundbreaking is more than just a very cold celebration of construction. It represents our district's deep and ongoing commitment to fiscal equity, investing in our district, every part of our district," a district staff member said.
District officials provided several implementation details but did not give a final project completion date. They said construction began the week before the event during spring break and will continue through the school year, with efforts to minimize disruption to teaching and learning.
No formal vote or board action was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; comments were framed as project descriptions and celebratory remarks.
