When Kelly Creek Community School principal Bill Rounis first arrived to assume his duties in September of 2015, the first thing he noticed was the sign at the school’s entrance.
“The rotting sign with Kelly Creek written on it,” said Rounis. “That was the one thing I looked at every single morning.”
Paint colours, although not as bad as the sign, were also an eyesore, he added.
“Faded baby blue and purply pink, at some point those kind of wear on you,” said Rounis. “But the sign was the part that used to get me a lot. When I walked in I just couldn’t take my eyes off it.”
Now, after seven months of construction and refurbishing at an estimated cost of $800,000, the school looks almost like new, according to the principal.
“It feels that we’ve been in a construction zone from basically the minute I arrived,” he said. “After we did all of the planning, the building started happening.”
According to School District 47 secretary-treasurer Steve Hopkins, some upgrades were added to the original scope and plan of the project, including a water-system upgrade and moving it from behind the school to the side of the property; new configuration of library windows; an addition for a gym stage and climbing wall; and added storage space under the gym for outdoor program equipment. A new propane-fired furnace was also installed to replace an old oil furnace.
Windows, doors, siding and rot repair were relevant to the original plans and the additional work made sense because the crew was already onsite, said Hopkins. He added that feedback the school district has received about the finished product has been positive.
“As a whole, it met what we were hoping to do, which we’ve been doing at other sites as well, in terms of envelope upgrades, doors and thermal windows,” said Hopkins.
According to Rounis, who is moving to Brooks Secondary School as principal there in September, the upgrades have changed the people who attend the school for the better.
“I believe there’s a lot of pride in the building,” he said. “There’s a lot of pride in knowing you have a facility that looks like a welcoming place for kids and adults to come work, play and learn. We’ve not only made a nicer place, we’ve also made it a healthier place. That is so important.”
Now that construction is complete, the school plans to give attention to the community side of things, said Rounis.
“That’s the biggest piece, making sure we’re maximizing use for the facility so people have access to it,” he said, “and also that we’re running good programs that make sense for families of the south end of town.”
