Ground breaking for the $64 million renovation and expansion project at Riverside-Brookfield High School has been set for Tuesday, April 3 at 4 p.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place in the courtyard behind the Alumni Lounge, which will become the location for new music rooms.
However work on the project will actually begin during the last week of March when asbestos removal will be performed during RB’s spring break.
The first phase of the asbestos removal is scheduled to be done in the first floor band room and then in the counselor’s offices and in 18 second-floor classrooms. The work in the band room is expected to be completed over spring break. The other work will be done this summer.
The asbestos removal is expected to cost approximately $64,300 according to the project’s architects Wight & Company. Last week the District 208 school board also approve paying Wight $15,500 for design services, project management and air monitoring services connected with the asbestos removal.
In other action at the Feb. 13 District 208 school board meeting, Board of Education members voted unanimously, with board President Larry Herbst and Vice President Nancy Chmell absent, to sell $1,500,000 in short term bonds to finance the construction of the vocational education that will be built across Golf Road from the school.
School for ’07-’08 starts Aug. 20
The board also approved the school calendar for the 2007-08 school year. The calendar will be almost identical to this year’s calendar Superintendent/Principal Jack Baldermann said. The first semester will again end before Christmas on Dec. 20. The price of ending the first semester before Christmas is an early start.
The first day of school for students will be Aug. 20. The last day will be May 30, 2008 if no emergency days are used. The calendar includes a winter break that begins on Dec. 21, 2007 and ends of Jan. 7, 2008. The calendar also includes a one-week-plus-one-day spring break beginning on March 21, 2008 and three days off during Thanksgiving week.
Students will also get days off on Labor Day, three teacher institute days, parent/teacher conference Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King’s birthday, President’s Day, Casimir Pulaski Day and Memorial Day.
