The parking lot at E. C. Best Elementary School has been torn up in order to design a safer and more functional pick up and drop off area for students, parents and bus drivers.
Since school dismissed, Churchill County School District has wasted no time in starting its summer projects.
Brian Byrd, director of maintenance, said many projects are taking place this summer.
“We have extensive work going on at E. C. Best Elementary and Northside Early Learning Center,” Byrd said. “But we also have some work being done at the high school and Numa Elementary.”
Byrd said all of the work being done in the district is covered by a bond that was passed for these projects.
“There is a large site package at E. C. Best,” Byrd said. “We demolished the existing asphalt that was failing, we rerouted the parking and bus drop off area to make them function safer, we replaced the site lighting with LED lights, we’re painting the exterior of the building, we’re doing a large scale asbestos abatement in the library and rectangular building, as well as new heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment on the roof of both of those building and new carpet and paint replacement. We’re also making the bathrooms compliant with the American Disability Act.”
Byrd said the majority of the bond is going to the E. C. Best project that totals $2.4 million.
Byrd said NELC project consists of asbestos abatement, new paint and flooring. He said there is a renovation in the east wing to better configure the layout, remodel bathrooms to meet ADA requirements and fix ground surfaces around the building.
Byrd said the project total is $836,159.
“The high school will also have its bathrooms brought up to ADA requirements,” Byrd said. “The high school auditorium was re-roofed, new windows were put in and painting projects took place. We also put in a secure single point of entry at Numa that is similar to what we’ve done at some of the other schools. It will allow office staff to control access through the front and buzz all visitors into the building.”
Byrd said when putting the projects out to bid, he not only looked at who could give them the best price but also looked at which companies were local.
“We used a lot of local companies from Fallon to do the majority of the work,” Byrd said. “There were a few companies that we had to get from Reno just because there isn’t a market for them here. We really did try to stay local with the contractors that we used. A few of the contractors we used are A & K Earth Movers, Fallon Floors, Future Fence, Hiskett & Sons and Hotwire Electric … but that’s just a few of them.”
Byrd said the school renovation projects started June 6 and will be completed by Aug. 9.