Wet weather hinders school building project

Superindent Chris Sonju and Business manager Michelle Sander gave the Glencoe-Silver Lake School Board an update on the district’s building project on Monday night, noting that the wet weather continues to hinder progress.
Sonju said people will start to see formations of the addition in the next couple of weeks.
Sonju and Sander continue to meet with the construction management team on a weekly basis to make sure things are moving along. Sonju reported that they are very close to budget with the contingency dollars factored in, adding that once the underground work is finished, there will be a better idea of where the budget stands.
There have been a lot of changes made to the storm water drainage and ponds.
The school is still waiting for the final numbers to see the impact of the changes that were made to the entrances.
Sonju said that it’s hard to predict what will happen in March or June, so GSL is working to make sure the dollars are there to pay for what might come up.
Board Member Jamie Alsleben said the two most common questions he has received from the public are; what types of things are being done to get back on budget, are things being cut or modified and is the project still on tract to open in the fall of 2017?
Sonju said that, as reported in previous meetings, there has been a reduction in some square footage in the entrances, reduction in the number of windows in the commons area and other minor changes in things such as flooring and other finishes that will not affect the quality of the project.

For more from the meeting, see the Sept. 14 print edition of The Chronicle.