DELTA STARTS WORK ON HIGH SCHOOL ADDITION

DELTA - Construction of an addition to Delta's high school is set to begin today.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled at 8 a.m. at the school, said Superintendent Larry Beshears.

In April Delta School District voters approved a $1.05 million bond issue allowing the district to build a 19,900-square-foot addition to the Lowell Jones Building on the high school campus and make improvements to the district's elementary building.

The need for the high school addition, Beshears said, was brought home last January when classes were canceled two days because of crumbling bricks at the old facility.

The old high school will be torn down once classes begin in the new building expected to be the second semester of the next school year.

On Tuesday the contractor brought in equipment and began preparing the site.

Beshears said: "I was tickled pink when I saw them bring in the big backhoe and bulldozer today."

The high school addition includes a science lab, a science classroom, a home economics lab, a business classroom, a library, office space, a multipurpose room and cafeteria.

"Basically, everything that's in the old high school will be in the new addition."

When the school board opened bids last month, the prices were all too high.

"We cut quite a bit out of the bid and went with the low bidder, Brown Construction of Dexter."

The building will cost $805,000, after about $125,000 in cuts were made to the proposal.

"There was no one particular item we cut," Beshears said. "It was several smaller things -- some sidewalks around the cafeteria, some storage space -- things like that, but nothing that affects the function of the building."

The contract specifies that the construction be completed in 300 days, Beshears said. "A lot depends on weather conditions," he added.

The elementary school improvements are 99 percent complete. Delays in that project caused the opening of school to be delayed almost a month this fall.

Beshears said electricity to the new heating and air conditioning systems was turned on this week.

"The roof is close to being completed," he said. "There are still a few little things that need to be finished, but project is essentially complete."