As the first quarter comes to an end at Lincoln Public Schools, construction continues at Lincoln Northwest High School and Robinson Elementary, the district’s two newest schools.
But stubborn labor shortages, supply chain snags and high inflation have continued, too, posing challenges to completing those projects and other work that’s part of the 2020 bond program.
“This is probably the new normal,” LPS Director of Operations Scott Wieskamp said about the construction challenges. “It’s about being more patient and saying, ‘OK, that project should have taken a year; maybe now we extend that schedule a couple of months, knowing it just takes more time.”
LPS Operations Director Scott Wieskamp
Wieskamp said LPS has had to change its approach to construction jobs to get ahead of the delays, often ordering pieces like light fixtures and mechanical equipment before designs are even locked into place.
People are also reading…
The district is still in phase three of projects under the $290 million bond voters approved in 2020, which include additions to Mickle and Schoo middle schools and enhancements at Southeast and Southwest high schools.
Those projects will be bid out in the months ahead, with LPS planning to initiate phase four of the bond this winter. Phase four covers additional middle school enhancements, early childhood projects and general infrastructure upgrades across the city, including parking lot and playground upgrades.
Roughly 90% of 2020 bond projects have been bid out.
The Journal Star sat down with Wieskamp to go over where those projects stand now:
New schools
Lincoln Northwest: When the district’s seventh high school opened in August at Northwest 48th and West Holdrege streets, its three-story instructional wing was essentially finished.
Work remained, however, on the auditorium, swimming pool and two gyms.
Two months later, the auditorium and swimming pool are still under construction. The school’s auxiliary gym is completed, but the main gym is still not ready largely due to issues with painting the lines on the wood flooring, Wieskamp said.
The main gym is expected to be complete in the next couple of weeks, while the auditorium and swimming pool should be ready by the end of the semester.
Outside, most trees and native plants have been planted and grass has been seeded, although don’t expect the grass to germinate until spring.
The track at Union Bank Stadium — the school’s shared athletic complex — is almost ready and will be painted soon.
Robinson Elementary: Lincoln’s newest elementary school near 102nd and Holdrege streets opened two weeks late due to construction delays.
And when it did, Robinson was able to house students in the north wing of the building while construction continued on the south wing.
Last-minute work like placing ceiling grids is ongoing and the south wing should be complete by late November or early December. The extra classrooms might not necessarily be used until next year, though, Wieskamp said.
The gym, which has been operational since school started, still needs flooring and acoustical panels installed. Playground equipment is also on backorder and may not be ready until the spring.
Standing Bear High School: Located at 70th Street and Saltillo Road, Standing Bear owes a lot to the lessons learned from Northwest’s construction.
The school, which opens next fall, is already nearly enclosed, with workers installing some final windows and roofing. Much of the work is centered inside now, where subcontractors are busy painting, installing flooring and ceiling and putting electrical, mechanical and plumbing utilities in place.
Administrative staff should be able to get into the building by the end of the school year, Wieskamp said.
Middle school additions
Dawes and Lefler: Dawes, in northeast Lincoln, will get a new gym and cafeteria expansion, which will add much-needed space.
Mid-century schools were built with smaller cafeterias, “which means the lunch timeframe is extended and that cuts into instructional time,” Wieskamp said. “And so if we can feed kids faster, we can have them in the classrooms … and make the building more efficient.”
LPS also expanded Dawes’ parking lot, cutting down on the number of staff who had to rely on street parking.
Much like Dawes, Lefler will see an expansion to its cafeteria and parking lot upgrades.
Lefler already has a new pickup and dropoff lane on the southwest side of the school near 48th and C streets that was built as part of the project.
The expansions at both schools are set to be ready by next school year.
Scott and Lux: New gyms at the two schools finally became operational in the past month or so, Wieskamp said, despite significant delays.
Issues with installing the flooring in a timely manner pushed back the completion date by months. The Lux project was originally slated for completion last December, while Scott’s was set to be ready last spring.
Schoo and Mickle: A new gym at Schoo and a cafeteria expansion at Mickle — similar to the Lefler and Dawes projects — will be bid out in the next couple of months, part of the last leg of phase three of the 2020 bond program.
Miscellaneous projects
HVAC updates: A 20-year effort to replace heating and cooling systems with more efficient geothermal systems will wrap in the 2020 bond issue.
Park Middle School and Everett Elementary are the last two schools to receive the HVAC overhauls, part of a nearly $248 million effort over the past two decades to bring older schools up to date.
The projects also come with other renovations, like code updates, roofing repairs and new windows.
Work at Park is expected to wrap up soon, Wieskamp said, while the Everett project will last through the school year.
But the work on indoor air quality won’t end with these two projects. Schools that got the very first geothermal systems over 20 years ago will need to be updated.
And Scott and Lux, which were built with traditional heating and cooling systems as the district was still testing out which system worked better, will need upgrades, too.
Focus programs: Lincoln Northeast’s library saw major renovations to make way for the school’s Early College and Career Stem program, which prepares students in the areas of food, energy, water and societal systems.
The 10,000-square-foot library was downsized to include collaborative lab space for the focus program, which is a partnership between LPS and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Meanwhile, students enrolled in Bay High — Rabble Mill’s focus program centered on content creation and digital media — are still at the Science Focus Program at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo as construction continues.
And a hangar-style addition at Lincoln North Star to house an aviation focus program is set to be complete in time for next school year.
Now that the district owns the Bottlers Building, home to the Arts and Humanities focus program, Wieskamp said the district is looking at making enhancements to that space, too.
High school renovations: Upgrades to OTHER LPS high schools were also part of the 2020 bond.
These enhancement projects target instructional space for classes in art, family and consumer science, career and technical education.
LPS expects to touch every middle school with similar enhancements, too, Wieskamp said, either packaged with additions or on their own.
Northeast was the first high school to receive the classroom renovations, while work at East and Lincoln High is wrapping up.
North Star’s upgrades were packaged with the aviation focus program addition, while the last two schools — Southwest and Southeast — will be bid out in the months ahead.
Photos: Lincoln Northwest opens it doors to students
Evans Francis, behavioral interventionist and boys soccer head coach, talks with students at Lincoln Northwest High School on Monday.
Lincoln Northwest High School psychologist Micheale Marcus directs freshmen during a school tour Monday.
The library area at Lincoln Northwest High School is filled with students Monday.
Lincoln Northwest High School students, including Noah Foreman (from right), Brohdy Ferguson and Delaney Ahl check out the cafeteria area Monday.
Union Bank & Trust Stadium at Lincoln Northwest High School is seen under construction Monday.
The cafeteria area at Lincoln Northwest High School.
Lincoln Northwest High School freshmen (from left) James Rodney, James King and Austen Mykhaylyshyn gather at the “learning stairs” Monday.
A locker area at Lincoln Northwest High School is seen Monday.
Lincoln Northwest High School students wait to enter the building Monday.
Union Bank & Trust Stadium at Lincoln Northwest High School is seen under construction Monday.
A classroom at Lincoln Northwest High School.
The parking lot at Union Bank & Trust Stadium at Lincoln Northwest High School is seen under construction Monday.
Lincoln Northwest High School freshmen Maria Manriquez (from left), Kylah Veah, Jurissa Cutshall and Delanie Hulit gather at the “learning stairs” Monday.
Contact the writer at [email protected] or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @HammackLJS
Want to see more like this?
Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.
