Before EPA officials get their hands dirty cleaning up the site of a new elementary school, they want to talk it over with USD 257 administrators.
“They consider this a very high profile project and they want it to go well,” Dan Willis, school board president, told the board at a meeting Monday evening.
The soil cleanup at the school site is unique because it will target ground intended for public and educational use, rather than residential yards.
The Environmental Protection Agency, through its contractor, Veterans Worldwide, is remediating soil throughout Iola neighborhoods as part of a Superfund cleanup, a federal program designed to remove toxic waste. The EPA also is working with USD 257, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the geotechnical engineering firm Terracon and SJCF Architects of Wichita to determine how to clean the school site.
The soil was contaminated starting more than 100 years ago by lead from a zinc smelting plant and ironworks foundry that operated near Kentucky and Monroe streets, where the district plans to build its new elementary school.
Contaminated soil was spread throughout the city, and the EPA expects to spend the next few years removing and replacing it. Cleanup efforts began in 2008 with 542 properties remediated. Another round of cleanup started last year, with more than 1,066 yards scheduled to be remediated over the course of four years.
But the cleanup at the school site presents special challenges, Willis said. He’s kept in close contact with officials from the EPA, KDHE, SJCF and Terracon.
The EPA officials want to discuss the project with board members and others working on the project.
The board set a special meeting at noon on March 9 to meet with the EPA officials, and also to meet with SJCF, which is designing the new school and other building projects.
SJCF has spent several weeks meeting with teachers and other faculty as they design the new elementary school and a new science and technology building near Iola High School. The architects have met with teachers at each grade level to determine such things as whether to install carpet or tile in classrooms (carpet was chosen) and how to design organization and storage equipment.
Angie Linn, principal at McKinley Elementary School, praised the group for their diligence and consideration.
“They are amazing,” she said. “They are wonderful to work with, very accommodating and very patient.”
STARTING next year, IHS seniors will have an option to skip some classes during their final semester, provided they meet strict requirements on things like grades and attendance.
The board approved a “senior release program” proposed by outgoing principal Scott Crenshaw, aimed at improving school attendance.
The idea is to reward seniors with a lighter schedule if they pass their first semester classes.
