Lafayette school construction 2021: $13M for classrooms, cafeteria, more

2022-06-15 12:48:04 By : Ms. Jenny Lu

The Lafayette Parish School System spent more than $13 million building new classrooms, cafeterias and other improvements to campuses across the district in 2021.

Some projects took all year to finish, and other, even lengthier projects carried over from previous years to finally reach completion . A few had quick turnarounds, and several were affected by spring and summer rain.

Here's a look back at construction across the Lafayette school system in 2021 and a few to come next year.

The 10-classroom wing addition at Edgar Martin Middle School began in January, and as of mid-November, it was 94% complete with a projected end date set for December. The total cost to date was $2,874,100, according to district reports. 

The project began in September 2020 to build the new wing on the school and improve drainage on campus. This required relocation of electrical, water supply and gas lines, and early efforts to de-grass and prep for the new slab were delayed by rain saturating the site, according to monthly LPSS facilities reports.

In May the district saw the completion of a new cafeteria for Scott Middle School. The project began in late 2019 with plans to be finished by Dec. 30, 2020. But it would be five more months before the $4.1 million construction project was marked "substantially complete," LPSS officials reported to the school board.

Another seemingly never-ending construction project was the new JROTC buildings for Acadiana High and Comeaux High.

More:Storms, lost class time, staff shortages: Look back at what Acadiana schools faced in 2021

What began in January was 79% complete in mid-November, the last update provided to the school board in December. Throughout the year the projected completion date crept forward from late October to Dec. 27, according to documents.

As of November, $2,496,149 had been spent on the JROTC buildings and decks. Acadiana High's building is to be 4,025 square feet with a 2,500 square-foot covered drill deck pavilion. Comeaux's building is to be 5,838 square feet with a 75-by-85-foot concrete paved drill deck, according to documents.

Each JROTC building comprises two classrooms, an office, boys changing room, girls changing room, a uniform storage room, a secure storage room, three ADA-compliant restrooms, a janitor room and mechanical/electrical rooms. Comeaux's also includes a three-lane air rifle range.

The district wrapped a long-term renovation project at Alice Boucher Elementary School in 2021. The nearly $1.6 million projects added new restrooms at the rear of the school and renovated the cafeteria area, library, and lobby and administration office area.

The project began in May 2020 and was projected to be completed on March 6, 2021. It was 95% complete as of Jan. 4, according to monthly facilities updates reported to the Lafayette Parish School Board.

Early in 2021, the district completed site improvements at David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy. The project to add a soccer field graded track, fencing around athletic fields, and a parent driveway began in August 2020 and wrapped at the end of January with a cost of $1.2 million, according to board documents.

Carencro High School got a new 40x60-foot metal building addition adjacent to its existing field house for about $300,000. The project was completed in November. 

Charles M. Burke Elementary got a new driveway over the summer. The $117,845 project began in late April, was delayed by weeks of rain and wet soil, and was completed in June, according to district reports.

More:Remembering those we lost in Acadiana in 2021

A $250,000 project to waterproof Carencro Middle School wrapped up in September. Contractors began cleaning, repairing masonry and waterproofing the school in early July, working from the front of the main building towards to the rear to allow clearance when faculty and students would arrive for fall classes.

The work was completed about six weeks into the fall semester, including additional repairs to windows in the main building courtyard area.

Work on a new field house for Acadiana High began in late July and has inched forward. The foundation was prepped and the slab poured, the project 16% completed in November. The $3 million project is expected to be completed in late July 2022, according to facilities reports.

One project — the disposal of old portable classroom buildings — saw progress, but it appears some work remains to be done in 2022. 

After years of building new classroom wings to replace these "butler buildings," the district spent $164,000 to demolish some at five schools across the district — Acadian Middle, Katharine Drexel Elementary, Evangeline Elementary, Ridge Elementary and Woodvale Elementary.

The disposal or sale of these buildings was bid out three times. Only one bid was received for demolition in May, and Lathan Construction from Bossier Parish completed the demo by September, according to documents.

The second group of temporary classroom buildings also went up for bid, but their demolition was put on hold in September following Hurricane Ida.

District officials were waiting to see what impact the hurricane and school closures in southeast Louisiana would have on LPSS enrollment before proceeding, according to documents. These 16 buildings were at Broadmoor Elementary, L.J. Alleman Middle and Cpl. Michael Middlebrook Elementary.

Contact children's issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @LeighGGuidry.

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