Project Update — August 31, 2020

With students slated to return to classrooms Tuesday, September 1, the Luxemburg-Casco School District is ready for their arrival. This is especially true at the brand-new Middle School building and the renovated High School.

A small group of workers were the only remaining signs of the year-plus referendum work. Cleaning and shining have been the primary emphasis in recent days, with teachers moved into their new classrooms.

The district’s new facilities passed an occupancy inspection by the State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services on August 25. Building Inspector Brian Noe was guided on the four-hour, walk-through inspection by Project Manager Mike Frailing of Nexus Solutions, which has overseen the referendum projects for the L-C School District.

“We’re excited for the new school year and looking forward to welcoming our students back,” says L-C District Superintendent Glenn Schlender. “We recognize that there is a lot of uncertainty this year due to COVID-19 and the fact that we have a new Middle School building. People should know that our staff has done an amazing job with preparations. We may not be 100 percent perfect, but the best possible effort is being made for the students.”

The renovated kitchen and lunchroom are ready to serve high- and middle-school students. Lunch tables all have plexiglass dividers to provide social distancing.

New equipment – ovens, refrigerators and freezers – has been installed within the kitchen. Holly Darnutzer, recently hired as the district’s food service director, is particularly happy about one of the additions.

“We now have a steam convection oven,” says Darnutzer. “This will be the first time that the district has been able to steam its vegetables, which better maintains nutrients.”

The steaming process spares the vegetables from boiling water, preserving color and flavor.

The steam convection oven is paired with a reverse osmosis system, located behind it. This system keeps clean the water utilized in the steaming process.

“All of the staff is excited to work in the new kitchen,” adds Darnutzer.

The new multi-purpose room, which adjoins the Gym Atrium, has been completed and is fully furnished. The front one-third of the room already is being used for meetings.

The L-C district purchased hundreds of furniture items from KI, the global furniture manufacturer headquartered in Green Bay.

Books are fully on the shelves of the new Media Center, and all of its televisions and projectors have been mounted. A “green wall” also has been put into place to give students the opportunity to create their own broadcast programming.

The Middle School technical education room is fully set up and ready for use by students. Like all classrooms where proper physical distancing cannot be maintained by furniture placement, plexiglass dividers have been put into place to keep students apart.

Art tables have been added to the art room, making it ready for students.

The location of the former High School office has been converted into special-needs classrooms.

The new commercial-grade equipment for the High School culinary lab has been installed.

On Thursday, motorized blinds were installed in the spaces with large windows: front office, lunchroom, multi-purpose room, art room and science labs.

Having accumulated a significant amount of dust over the past 16 months during the construction process, the high school’s trophy cases were in need of cleaning. All of L-C’s trophies were removed and cleaned, and the cases again sparkle.

The nearby terrazzo floors were resurfaced, followed by a wax application, to give them a like-new appearance.

Frailing was complimentary to Jeff Treml and Don Fameree, head custodians at the high school and middle school, respectively. “Jeff and Don have been great to work with throughout the project,” says Frailing. “They were especially helpful in getting everything cleaned in the proper manner to be ready for the school year.”

Asphalt for the new school parking lot has been laid, and the lot striped, since mid-August. The lot across the street was re-striped at the same time.

Last week, access control gates were being installed and programmed at the north end of the school lot. The goal is to separate foot traffic from auto traffic.

The interior graphics package, including signage, was being put into place last week. The exterior graphics package – which centers around the main High School/Middle School entrance, the Fitness Center entrance and the Gym entrance – is expected to take place in the initial two weeks of September.

By the time that the academic year begins this week, beyond the exterior graphics the only work remaining will be punch-list items, according to Frailing. These center around paint touch-ups, temperature controls needing adjustment and minor cabinet modifications, he says, and will be done on teacher in-service days and after school hours.

“We hope that the Luxemburg-Casco community is as happy with the new facilities as those of us with Nexus Solutions are,” says Frailing. “We can’t thank Glenn Schlender and the Board of Education enough for the way that they allowed things to continue to move forward. That makes all the difference in a project.”

Nexus Solutions personnel including Frailing will remain engaged with the district over the next year to address any project-related issues which may arise.