Iola Middle School is getting an early birthday present.
The building will turn 100 years old in 2024. New windows are being installed on the south and east sides, giving it a fresh look in advance of a planned celebration next fall.
Federal COVID-19 relief money is paying nearly the entire cost.
Higgins Group Inc. of Wichita is installing the windows. Work began on Nov. 13 and has been progressing more rapidly than expected, IMS Principal Brad Crusinbery said.
The new windows are more energy efficient and replace cloudy glass from windows likely installed during a renovation process in the 1990s.
“It will make a big difference on the look of the exterior and the warmth of the classroom, with not as much wind coming through the cracks,” Crusinbery said.
“I’ve heard a lot of remarks from kids and adults about how much better it looks, so I would think that translates to a little bit of an increase in school pride.”
A few years ago, the school added decorative window clings that feature school colors and logos. Visitors often compliment those as well, he said.
INSTALLATION of the new windows is about halfway done, Crusinbery estimated.
About 21 windows will be replaced. Original estimates called for construction until spring break, but the process has gone so quickly that Crusinbery expects it could finish as early as the end of January, depending on weather.
Crews typically install a set of windows in one or two days.
While windows are being installed, the classroom affected cannot be used. That’s meant moving classes to accommodate the work but students and staff have adjusted with minimal disruption, Crusinbery said.
“Luckily we have a couple of rooms that are only used one or two hours a day, so we’ve had to do some shuffling,” he said. “We even had to close off some stairs while they did windows in the stairwell, and the kids did a great job adapting to that.”
THE MAJORITY of funding for the windows came from the third round of federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSR) Fund, which provided money to school districts for a variety of pandemic-related recovery and improvements, Superintendent Stacey Fager said.
ESSR funds accounted for $310,457 of the total $493,349.70 cost.
