Work on Prop S, Pattonville’s $111 million no-tax-rate-increase bond issue, has begun. Voters in Pattonville approved Prop S in 2022 with a 79.4% favorable vote. Prop S work will fund projects at every school in Pattonville, including adding classrooms to address growth in student enrollment; providing safety and maintenance improvements; and updating school facilities to meet teaching and learning needs. Approval of the bond issue did not increase the district's tax rate. Work on the storm shelter additions at Bridgeway, Parkwood and Willow Brook elementary schools and the new gym at Holman Middle School is underway. Additionally, interior renovations at Parkwood, Willow Brook and Holman are also in progress. 

In May, demolition began on the lower level of Gym A at Holman. This work is the first step in construction that will take place at Holman. Gym A will be renovated to provide more efficient locker rooms and health spaces. Additionally, a new gym will be built and attached to the main building, replacing the currently disconnected Gym B. This new addition, which is a storm shelter, will allow for students to attend gym without leaving the building. Site preparations on the new gym will begin in June and are expected to be completed towards the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. Once completed, renovations will begin on the current Gym B site to adapt its use for the Pattonville printing department and for additional garage space for the transportation department. The space will include four bays and the two bays in the current garage will become wash bays.

Additional timeline updates have been made to the storm shelter additions at Bridgeway, Parkwood and Willow Brook. Site preparation on all three additions will begin this summer. During this time, foundation work will begin and the concrete panels that make up the building will be made and shipped. Once those panels arrive, they will be assembled, which takes about three weeks, the concrete roof will be poured and interior work can begin. Below are the timelines for the elementary school building additions and related building renovations, which are dependent on weather conditions.

• At Bridgeway, construction on the exterior paneling is expected to begin in February 2024 and be complete by December of that year. The library will move to the main level of the addition and the lower level will house the music room and flex space. The current library will become a STEM room and SSD resource area. Renovating the library and STEM classroom is scheduled to be completed in August 2024. 
• At Parkwood Elementary School, exterior paneling work is scheduled to begin in December and is expected to be completed in October 2024. The addition will house three flex classroom spaces on the first floor and art and music will move to the second floor of the addition. The current art room will become a grade-level classroom and the music room will become additional offices and meeting space. Also at Parkwood, office renovations will begin this summer and are expected to be completed by October. Changes include making a more secure entry to the building so all visitors must enter through the office before gaining access to the rest of the building.
• At Willow Brook, construction on the addition is expected to begin in January 2024 and be completed by that November. Music will move to the first floor of the addition and the library will move to the second floor. 
• Also in June, renovation work will begin on the new art classrooms and the cafeteria expansion. These spaces will be complete by the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. The relocation of the front office and counseling and the nurse’s spaces will begin in August and is scheduled to be completed in January 2024.

In addition to these updates, the timeline for work on phases 2 and 3 have been revised. Phase 2 has been split into two stages, 2A and 2B. The first stage will include updates to the Pattonville High School science and family and consumer sciences (FACS) labs and work on the current Holman Gym B for its transformation for use by the printing and transportation departments. Design work on Phase 2A has begun and bidding for that work should start this fall, with construction to be computed before the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year. 

The second stage, Phase 2B, will include work at early childhood, Drummond and Rose Acres Elementary Schools, Pattonville Heights Middle School and the remaining projects at Holman. Design on that work will start in 2024 and construction will go through 2026. Phase 3 projects remain the same and include improvements at Remington Traditional School and remaining projects at the high school. Design on that is expected to begin in early 2025 and be completed in 2027.

Changes to the Prop S timeline is due to challenges impacting the construction field, primarily labor shortages. Those shortages are caused by two challenges: decreasing employees in the field and an increase in construction projects. Additional delays are due to continued supply chain issues. As was regularly reported, supply issues started during the pandemic, and the ripple effect is still being felt. Areas primarily being impacted are mechanical industries, like HVAC and electrical, as well as items that use computer chips. This is resulting in longer project timelines and the potential for interruptions to daily school operations.

Because the construction timeline has been extended, Pattonville will use the added time to connect with the school improvement teams (SIT) who have projects in Phase 2B and Phase 3 to ensure that planned work continues to meet the needs of the school.

To learn more, visit bit.ly/PattonvillePropS. 

Gallery: 

Work taking place in June.

{source} Bond issue Pattonville Prop S {source}