School may be out for the summer, but work continues inside the classrooms at several schools in Raytown.
It’s a race against the clock for contractors as back to school is just around the corner.
Spring Valley Elementary School in Raytown is just one of five buildings in the district being renovated.
“As you know, facilities are always needing something. There’s always something going bad,” said Dr. Travis Hux, Assistant Superintendent of Support Services.
Built in 1965, Spring Valley Elementary is undergoing quite the face-lift.
“It’s everything from painting, new ceilings, new lighting, totally redoing all the bathrooms, water lines, HVAC. I mean, we really gut these buildings,” said Hux.
It's a load of work to be completed in a short period of time.
“It’s a sprint from start to finish,” said Hux.
“When I first started, we pretty much had the month of August, so we had 90 days, now it’s down to 60 days,” said Cindy Bruner Henley, owner of Bruner Contracting Company LLC.
Once school lets out for summer, there’s then summer school, meetings, and even professional development taking place.
“The requirements and the demands are becoming increasingly, increasingly challenging,” said Henley.
June 1 is day one, but by July 31, all projects must be complete.
“Teachers like to try to start sneaking into the building and that’s kind of hard too because we have to be like, 'Hey - we know you want to come in and get your room looking awesome, but let us get it painted first,'” said Hux.
With less than two weeks to go, crews are working around the clock.
“I always have a little bit more of acid reflex this time of year because if you look at this building right now, and you’re sitting there thinking, this is going to be done in a week and a half," said Hux.
Henley said there’s no such thing as an extension of time. As we come down to the wire, Henley said there’s nothing to worry about; the projects will be finished on time.
This is the fourth year construction has taken place in Raytown schools. It’s all part of a $25 million bond issue voters passed back in 2014.
