When it comes to schools in Seward County, they’re growing.
At a lunch and learn session Jan. 27 hosted by the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership, representatives of schools across the county shared their upcoming projects.
The only schools not in attendance were St. Paul Lutheran in Utica and St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward.
Public schools
Centennial Public School is just starting its building project after its patrons passed a bond this past summer. The project includes a new kitchen space to replace the kitchen from 1976, updated classrooms and a new auxiliary gym and bus barn. The gym and bus barn will replace the old school spaces in downtown Utica, Superintendent Seth Ford said.
Milford Public School is in its pre-planning stage, Superintendent Mitch Kubicak said. As enrollment continues to grow at MPS, the district continues to adjust to meet the needs. Upcoming projects include roof replacement and HVAC upgrades, he said. The district is also looking at its bus barn, which has run out of space for its fleet of vehicles.
Seward Public Schools is in the process of a bond issue vote, but Superintendent Josh Fields said the district is making sure to keep its facilities as updated as possible. Among the projects that the proposed bond would cover are updated science classrooms, which are the original rooms from 1963, and additions of storm shelters at the high school and elementary school.
Parochial schools
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School will begin a major construction project this summer when it breaks ground for classrooms on the north side of the current building. Msgr. Robert Tucker said the school faces logistical challenges on days when the church hosts a funeral. The new space would separate the school from the church and allow room for additional expansion.
Barb Mertens, principal at St. John Lutheran School in Seward, said their building project will begin this year with Phase 1. The original 1910 building on the south side of the existing building will be demolished to make way for a new school. She said the current school is using every bit of space with people “in nooks and crannies.” The new building will be constructed in four phases, with modular classrooms to fill in while instructional space is under construction.
Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Staplehurst has finished its building project, representative Paul Duer said. The former school building is now being used as a childcare center, which has been beneficial to the community. Having flexible classrooms in the new building has been good, especially since “growth happens fasther than you anticipate,” he said.
Post-secondary
Jon Kisby, associate vice president at Southeast Community College Milford, talked about the new construction technology center getting ready for construction on the northwest corner of the Milford campus. The renovations to Nebraska Hall were the college’s most recent updates at Milford. The Lincoln campus added a science tower, and the Beatrice campus added an agricutural career center.
Scott Seevers, senior director of development and engagement at Concordia University, said the college does not begin major building projects until it has the money in hand. It is currently raising funds to add a baseball and softball stadium on the southeast corner of the campus behind the tennis courts. That would address the volume challenges at Plum Creek Park, which could host up to 50 games in 50 days during the spring for CU and Seward High.
