Rebuilding of Jackson school nearly done

Thirteen months ago, with much of his school in wreckage, it was hard for Monsignor Edward Eftink to imagine anything good could come from the F-3 tornado that swept through Jackson in May 2003.

Today, a quick tour through Immaculate Conception School has Eftink pointing out thousands of improvements the tornado allowed for, most of them in the form of square footage.

Even down to the installation of fire extinguishers and placement of furniture, much of the construction and renovation of the school is already complete. The multipurpose building, which houses the gymnasium, art and music classrooms and preschool, should be finished in time for an Aug. 15 dedication ceremony, Eftink said.

More importantly, it will be ready when school begins Aug. 18. The modular trailers many students were crammed into last year because of ongoing construction have been emptied and soon will be hauled away.

The new construction allowed classrooms that once measured 600 square feet to grow to 900 square feet. The school now has two classrooms per grade, preschool through eighth, plus art and music rooms and a library. Much of the furniture in those rooms is new.

One scoreboard has already been mounted in the new, regulation-size gymnasium, which has six basketball goals. Sheets of plywood for the gym's subfloor arrived Monday.

All in all, the school has grown from 23,000 square feet before the tornado to a current 77,000 square feet. The project cost around $4 million. The school has been engaged in a fund-raising campaign to cover construction costs.

"It's almost more than we imagined," Eftink said. "We've never had anything so fancy. This is going to change the appearance of this part of Jackson."

The school, which used to be separated into two buildings, has been connected into one large complex now, thanks to the closing of Madison Street, which used to divide the property. A large parking lot is being paved in front of the school.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128