South Washington County outlines Grey Cloud, Bailey and Pine Hill additions under 2023 elementary bond

Tyrone Brookins, the district’s assistant superintendent, told the South Washington County Schools board on Sept. 4 that the district is moving into phase 2 of the 2023 elementary bond, with projects at Grey Cloud, Bailey and Pine Hill elementary schools.

The projects include classroom additions to relieve capacity, new or repurposed gymnasium space that will meet the code-required storm‑shelter standard, and interior renovations to existing classroom pods and support spaces. "This evening we will do a construction update for phase 2, which includes our elementary schools," Brookins said.

Design teams described plans and a timeline. Mark DuBois, an architect representing COMA, said Grey Cloud will expand to a target capacity of 835 students plus pre‑K, add a storm‑shelter gymnasium and renovate classroom pods and other interior spaces. "The additions trigger the storm shelter requirement," DuBois said, noting the design team placed the shelter in a northwest addition and is renovating the first‑through‑fourth‑grade pods to replace old demountable, fabric‑covered walls with fixed stud walls to support updated technology and finishes.

At Bailey, the design follows similar principles but includes a kindergarten classroom addition and repurposes an existing multipurpose area in the fifth‑grade wing into a commons to make the building more comparable to Grey Cloud. "There will be a total of six sections available for kindergarten when the addition is built," DuBois said.

Architects from Wold — Sal Bagley and Paul Apokoski — presented Pine Hill’s concept. Apokoski said the Pine Hill project will add six classrooms and a gymnasium, renovate some special‑services rooms and bathrooms to improve ADA accessibility, and introduce new flex and breakout spaces tied to a design concept inspired by a pine tree. "We worked very closely with the group of staff there to come up with a concept," Apokoski said, describing materials and flexible learning areas meant to create small‑group spaces and better circulation through the building.

Schedule and budget: design teams said schematic and design development work is complete and construction drawings will follow. DuBois said bids for Grey Cloud and Bailey are planned before year’s end, with construction starting in summer 2026. Apokoski said Pine Hill’s bidding was imminent and that project teams expect construction in 2026–27, with interior renovations staged during summers so classroom work minimizes disruption.

On disruption and phasing, DuBois said classroom pod renovations are planned for summer months: "The plan right now ... the classroom pods will be renovated during the summer. So they'll be starting in June '26 after school gets out and be finished in August '26 before anybody comes back." Architects said site work will be minimized where possible and that new secondary entries will be provided to serve community use of gymnasium spaces without sending visitors through the main school.

Finance and scope adjustments: the design teams and district staff said the workplans evolved from the bond referendum programming after identifying actual site needs. DuBois described one programming change at Grey Cloud where expanding kitchen storage rather than building a new kitchen and servery met food‑service requirements while freeing funds to expand the cafeteria and provide a third gym/storm shelter. DuBois said that approach proved "more effective, efficient, and cost effective." Chris Blackburn, the district’s director of business services, told the board the district has already issued an initial bond series and will consider whether to issue the remainder of the authorized authority as construction needs become clearer. "As we come up to this next, kind of winter, we'll be issuing that second set," Blackburn said, noting the board has authority to issue up to $200,000,000 and that debt service levy practice includes a 105% coverage requirement for debt service.

Board questions focused on timing, disruption for students, budget reallocation when projects come in under budget and how bids will be staggered to promote competitive pricing. DuBois and contractors said they are coordinating with Kraus Anderson as construction manager to stagger bid openings and to plan interior renovations during summers. The principals for the impacted schools — Jennifer Schwartz (new principal, Grey Cloud), Laura Lushick (principal, Pine Hill) and Christine McDonald (principal, Bailey) — were introduced and present to answer site‑specific questions.

The board did not take a formal vote on any project tonight; the presentation served as an update and design review. District staff said they would return with bid documents and contract recommendations as those phases are completed.

Questions that remain include final bid results and any shifts in the overall bond issuance schedule; district staff said they will analyze budget positions again before issuing the next bond series and will report back to the board as bids and costs are confirmed.