News1@ulyssesnews.com
When students at Sullivan and Hickock Elementary Schools return to class next August, their cafeteria experience might be a little different. It’ll definitely be different for kitchen staff after the USD 214 Board of Trustees approved a kitchen/cafeteria remodel project at its February 10 regularly scheduled board meeting at the Joyce School.
Construction will begin as soon as students leave the building on the last day of school in May in order for the projects to be complete when the kids return to class next August.
The projects will update the kitchens at both schools and make the cafeteria more accessible for the kids and more efficient for the kitchen staff.
At Hickock, the kids will have more of a traditional kitchen area to get their food.
“This will set up like a traditional cafeteria where you enter, you get your stuff, you move around to where you need to be, come through (and) get your final stuff then check out,” said superintendent Corey Burton. “Right now, they come down the hall and they get their food in the hallway, so this will actually set them up with a kitchen area where they can go and get their food and head out.”
Some of the current kitchen equipment will remain and new walk-in coolers and freezers will be added at both schools.
The cafeteria will receive new flooring and paint, as well.
Over at Sullivan, the students also line up in the hallway to get their food, the new set up eliminates that and makes for a more efficient use of space.
“All the ovens and all the warmers will be brand new, we’re getting pass-thru warmers to make it much more efficient to take it from the kitchen to the kids,” Burton said. “A lot of planning went into that design, so it’s going to change the flow of that kitchen. It should make it much more efficient for both (schools) all the way around.”
The construction cost for the kitchens and cafeterias came in at just over $2.5 million for both projects including the new kitchen equipment.
The trustees approved $2,497,140 for the construction project.
“The kitchen and cafeteria projects are big projects,” Burton said. “If we think how long those kitchens have been there, what we are doing is putting in two kitchens that literally should be there for 70-75 years. It’s a big investment in the building, but it should give both those buildings a lot of years of use.
“I think these are projects we can logistically take on and still save a good reserve there in case anything would happen.”
Alongside the kitchen/cafeteria projects, the Hickock Daycare will be remodeled at a cost of $81,266 which includes a donation. Changes include making the bathrooms ADA compliant and commodes and sinks more kid friendly.
νIn other action, the trustees approved an asbestos abatement contract for $25,784. As soon as school lets out for the summer, crews will begin asbestos abatement.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here