I want to thank the community for passing the referendum. Supporting the building project was an essential piece that should assist in keeping Black Hawk School District viable for many years to come.

We are embarking on a process that has not been done at Black Hawk in 25 years, construction. Actually, if you consider the demolition portion of the project, I am not sure it has ever been done before this time in the Black Hawk School District. There will be a lot of firsts, at least for me.

I have heard a few question about the process.  When will the building start?  How long will it take? Where will classes be held when work is being done? All of these are great questions. I will give you a tentative response to some of these at this time and more detail as we move forward. The district will do its best to keep you updated. As part of the effort to inform the public, in the near future we will replace the referendum tab on our website with a construction tab.

As far as the timeline for construction it will be a while before you see anything tangible. The process has started for the planning. I have and will continue to meet with the team from HSR on the plans for the building, the process and the timeline. The HSR team intends to be done with plans by December and to put the construction phase out to bid in January of 2023. The intent will be to start construction in March or April of 2023.

The construction will be a phased approach. The builders will build the addition between the two buildings and the new office/entrance first. Classes and rooms will be moved into the new spaces. Then the designated sections of the building will be torn down. Finally, the new section of the addition to be set on the footprint of the removed portions will be built. The project as a whole is projected to be completed by December of 2024.

Some processes will start soon, such as the site survey. We will engage Environmental Management Consulting to deal with plan any needed asbestos or other hazardous material removal. Borrowing and investing of the necessary funds will take place in the next month or two. Many things that will happen in the near future will not be noticeable but are necessary to make sure this project is done well and meets the needs of the students, staff and community.

The aim is to move forward with the process very deliberately under the guidance of HSR. HSR has completed many school projects and is very knowledgeable of the process and requirements of work such as ours. We believe in the end the community will be pleased with the commitment that has been made.   

Sincerely,
Willy Chambers