The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Some Steamboat Springs School District sixth-grade teachers can't help but smile.

After nearly seven months of construction, a $1.6 million middle school expansion is less than a week from completion, which means early holiday gifts -- new classrooms -- for six teachers.

Teachers including Matt Anderson have begun the process of moving supplies from old rooms to new rooms in anticipation of holding classes in the addition once school begins after winter break.

Anderson, a math and science teacher, said he's excited to teach students in a classroom designed for science.

Half of the flooring in his new classroom is tile, which is much more conducive to holding "wet" labs than the wall-to-wall carpeting in his current room, Anderson said. Chemical-resistant counters and two-person lab tables, as well as two stainless steel sinks and strip electrical outlets, also will make the work of a science teacher easier.

"This is a big advantage for me -- I'm now in a science room," Anderson said. "I'm pretty excited."

The new addition -- about 8,700 square feet -- was funded by the Education Fund Board through the city's half-cent sales tax for education. Construction Superintendent Jim Lorenz of Holmquist-Lorenz Construction Co. and school district Facilities Director Rick Denney said the project is not only ahead of schedule but also on budget.

"In effect, the project is finished," Denney said. "I'm pretty excited. Another project on time and on budget."

The six new classrooms are three larger classrooms divided by partitions, allowing teachers the flexibility to merge classes. Each room features large white boards and state-of-the-art computer network hookups, Lorenz said. The new addition also features air conditioning, something the school's original building doesn't have. Motion detectors control toilets and sinks in the new bathrooms.

The expansion also incorporates the school's modular, which connects to the new hallway via standard classroom doors.

Lorenz and his crew are completing the final "punch list" of tasks such as touch-up painting and cleanup, he said. The project passed all inspections.

"It's been a real sound, good project," Lorenz said. Meeting the project's schedule was only possible because of the reliable, quality work from a variety of subcontractors who worked the job, he said.

Middle school officials and the Fund Board's Capital Commission originally proposed the project out of a desire to establish pods for each grade level, which they said would help foster a true middle school environment. The expansion, they said, also will enhance teaming among the school's faculty and create more of a community atmosphere for students.

"The really nice thing is all the commotion for the sixth grade will be in the addition," Anderson said. "There will be no seventh- or eighth-graders."

-- To reach Brent Boyer call 871-4234

or e-mail bboyer@steamboatpilot.com