Construction and renovation projects at Carver Elementary School will not be finished before school begins in August but the ongoing work should not interfere with students returning to the campus, according to an update given during Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Earlier this year, the Meridian Public School District Board of Trustees voted to close Oakland Heights Elementary School and re-open Carver Middle School, which had closed in May 2022, as an elementary school because of its newer buildings and larger space.

But renovations were needed at the Carver campus especially to get it ready for younger students in kindergarten through fifth grades.

“A few months back, the board voted in an emergency situation so we could begin preparing the transition of Carver from a middle school to an elementary school. Since then, that work has begun in earnest,” MPSD Director of Operations Clay Sims said in giving school board members an update on the project. Declaring an emergency allowed the district to proceed forward with the project without the usual lengthy design and bid approval process.

“The building is being pressure washed on the outside and painted on the inside, and that work is continuing right now,” he said.

Also, a roofing project and plumbing upgrades, funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, are ongoing at Carver as well as several of the city schools.

Since Carver was previously a middle school, bathrooms need to be installed in kindergarten, first grade and self-contained classrooms. The self-contained classrooms will also need to have showers and changing tables installed.

“Within the planning to transition to an elementary school, it became clear that it was necessary to add restrooms facilities in some of the classrooms to accommodate kindergarten and first grade students,” Sims said.

Other projects to the school include roadwork that will need to be done around the campus to get it ready for parent pick-up and drop-off routes, flooring in the library, and renovations to the entranceway and the bus drop-off area.

While work is underway or soon to begin at Carver, Sims said, “unfortunately that work can’t be completed by August.”

On Tuesday, the school board accepted the low bid from J&J Contractors Inc. to make the emergency renovations at Carver, approving actual cost estimates of $815,000, because the district is asking for work to be performed after hours and on weekends once school begins in August, which Sims said will drive up labor costs.

“We’ve asked J&J to structure their contract in such a way as to allow for the work to take place in the evenings and on weekends to work around the school schedule,” Sims said.

In the individual K-1 classrooms, crews hope to finish cutting the slab under the flooring to install plumbing and putting up metal stud walls and sheetrock on the exterior of the bathrooms before school begins in August. The remainder of the work is expected to be completed by December.

Major construction projects at Carver, including site development and renovations to the entranceways, are expected to be bid in August and are not expected to be completed until next year.

Architect Gary Bailey, who is heading up several of the district’s construction projects, said the restrooms and other construction areas will be contained so students will not be able to gain access to the areas while at school.

In other bond issue updates, Bailey said the project to construct a new baseball/softball stadium complex at Meridian High School will be rebid in August due to the bids coming in too high during the first round. That project is not expected to be completed until early spring 2025.

Bids to complete major upgrades to the fine arts building at Meridian High, connect the campus buildings and other renovations will be accepted in September with work expected to be completed in early 2025. Work to upgrade parking areas will be bid in September and should be completed by February 2024.

Renovation and construction projects going on at the district’s two middle schools are expected to be bid in October with work completed in early 2025.

“2024 is going to be an extremely busy year on the high school campus,” Bailey said.