Middle-school addition advancing, district and contractor say

A contractor presenting a community video update told the board the Onalaska Middle School addition is progressing through masonry and MEP rough-ins and that crews are now preparing to put on the new roof and begin build-back work. "We're here on segment f and h, the new classroom addition...we have a lot of MEP overhead rough ins going on," the presenter said during the video update.

The presentation walked trustees through the site: exterior masonry work over concrete block on the PE storage area, bearing walls for new classroom pods, window blocking, and demolition in the former administrative area to make way for the sensory space and other reconfigured rooms. The presenter noted temporary conditions during winter weather but emphasized progress on second-level work and upcoming delivery of instrument casework for the new band area.

District staff thanked subcontractors and Vantage Architects for their partnership and said the district is coordinating turnover of completed areas soon. The board was shown both a recorded video and still photos; presenters said the new gym addition and the new band room are approaching turnover milestones and that demolition of the old gym interior is underway so repainting and build-back can begin.

Why it matters: the renovations add classroom capacity, a new gym and specialized spaces (sensory area, instrument storage) that affect building operations and programming. District staff said they expect additional updates at future meetings as the project reaches further milestones.

Next steps: staff will return with more pictures and progress markers at the next board meeting.