School expansions, construction progressed over the summer

In case you couldn’t tell, Austin Public Schools built a few things this summer.

Aside from laying the groundwork for the new Holton fifth- and sixth-grade school and finishing an expansion to the Woodson Kindergarten Center, there was plenty of construction going on at Austin schools over the summer, according to Buildings and Grounds Director Mat Miller.

“We did a few things this summer,” Miller joked during his presentation to the Austin Public Schools board Monday.

There were a few minor adjustments, from preventive roofing maintenance at several district buildings to replacing skylights at Austin High School. Lockdown beacons were installed district-wide, so drills and lockdowns would be louder in noisier areas like industrial or technical classrooms. Keypad doors were installed at Sumner, Banfield and Neveln Elementary Schools after school staff found the new telecom door system installed last summer a bit inconvenient.

In addition, the district is now on a new wireless clock system, which means school time is synchronized throughout Austin schools.

One of the largest projects was the addition of six tennis courts to the west of Neveln. Though slope issues caused the district to redo the north courts, Miller said workers were putting acrylic surface finishes on all courts this week, and a grand opening for the tennis courts could take place as early as this weekend.

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