Genoa City Joint 2 School District Brookwood Elementary School

Genoa City Jt. 2 School District, a 4K-8 district, was struggling to meet their needs for staffing, programming, maintenance, and space at their aging Brookwood Elementary School. To combat these needs, the District presented two referendum questions to their community on February 21, 2017:

• $250,000, recurring for operational, maintenance, staffing and equipment costs
• $6.1 million to raze and replace the 1908 portion of the school, repair and improve the remainder of the school and grounds, construct additional academic spaces and a cafeteria space and equipment related to the projects.

With our experience in budgeting similar school projects we estimated the architectural floor plans to fit the District’s pre-referendum budget. Our pre-referendum and preconstruction services allowed the District to make informed decisions and pass their referendum with 65% voter approval.

Construction began shortly after the successful referendum passage in June once students were released for summer break. Like most summer construction projects we were under a tight schedule to complete the work and be ready for school to begin in the fall. Construction started with tearing down the 1908 portion of the building which only made space tighter in the building. Fall 2017’s school year began with shared classrooms however by March we were able to complete the main portion of the addition so the students and staff could finish their school year in their new space. However, we did have to wait until summer to landscape but the inside was complete and functional much earlier than anticipated. The remodeled space and new addition provided much needed modern learning, ADA accessibility, a designated cafeteria space, additional student bathrooms, energy efficiency, and safety throughout the school.