River Ridge Open House
River Ridge District
residents tour new school facilities
By Ted Pennekamp
Many citizens, school officials, staff and students attended the open house Saturday afternoon for the new addition and other facilities upgrades to River Ridge Schools.
The open house began in the new middle school gym at 1 p.m. with a presentation by school officials, the architect FEH Design of Dubuque and the contractor Kraemer Brothers Construction of Plain, Wis.
“It’s been a remarkable journey,” said District Administrator Dr. Jeff Athey, who noted that it has been approximately five years since the referendum process began. Athey noted that all of the students of the district have been at one site since Monday, Nov. 27.
Fifth through 12th-grade Principal Clay Koenig mentioned all of the excitement the students have shown for their new addition and new location. He also thanked all of the hard work on the part of school board members, staff, citizens, FEH Design and Kraemer Brothers, as did the other speakers. Several middle school students acted as guides for those touring the new facility following the presentation.
“It’s about the people more than the buildings,” said School Board President Ken Neis. Neis emphasized the community support and all of the people who made the new addition and facility upgrade possible. The new addition should help to serve the River Ridge District, the students and the residents well into the future, said Neis.
The new addition is 29,000 square feet and features eight state-of-the-art classrooms, a 9,400-square-foot gymnasium and athletic storage area, and HVAC upgrades to the entire existing facilities which encompassed 106,000 square feet. There are numerous other upgrades, including but not limited to, new building water service and piping, a new boiler and air handling unit, and central utility plant upgrades at the high school and elementary buildings, a newly created choir room, integrated SMART board technology, upgraded acoustical ceilings, a state-of-the-art science lab, a low-maintenance and high durability polished concrete floor, an expanded library and new computer lab, new office space, more stalls in the back parking lot, and a new playground area between the middle and elementary buildings.
The cost of the entire project was $8,866,400.
“This was a tremendous accomplishment that we can all feel proud of,” said Athey.