Loomis Public Schools, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
LOOMIS — Loomis Public School held a public meeting on June 16 regarding their bond campaign to address the lack of space. A modified option for the project was presented that will cost $19.75 million.
he Loomis school board and administration have spent the past several years putting together a plan for potential expansion as conversations with faculty revealed a widespread issue, the lack of space in the building.
According to a timeline in a presentation presented by Loomis Public Schools staff, by the fall of 2023 it had become apparent that classrooms were packed to capacity due to growing enrollment.
It was noted that classes have had to be split and there are still over 20 students in classrooms at times. All of the current rooms at the school are occupied and this leaves the district with no extra pace.
Discussions with staff and a survey in April 2024 showed the aging facilities were undersized for the needs of the district.
For instance, with the addition of NSAA girls wrestling as an activity, there have had to be space restrictions at the school. In the coming year, the district expects to have 16 boys and five girls out for wrestling.
At the nursing station, there is no place for a sick student to wait for their parents to pick them up. A picture provided by the district shows a student lying down under a desk as they await their parents.
It was also noted that in several cases, hallways are having to be used for overflow storage.
The current enrollment of the Loomis district is 268 students, with a difference of around 80 option students in the district.
Through May and June 2024, Loomis administration contacted and engaged with Wilkins ADP to conduct a facility audit to determine their exact needs. By July, Wilkins shared their findings with the board.
The facility audit determined that the 1954 building has HVAC issues, and that the existing shop space, cafeteria, wrestling room and weight room are all undersized. As participation in activities is 75 percent or higher.
The high school addition is still in good shape, it was constructed back in 2008, but it is also lacking in space as classrooms have filled up.
In September 2024, board members toured the school building additions and expansions at Wilcox, Amherst and Cozad. By October, Wilkins ADP provided the board with several options based on their findings from the facility audit and the advisory committee priorities.
Moving into 2025, the board worked to hire a construction manager and eventually selected Hausman Construction in February.
“The board of education and administrative team of Loomis Public Schools are truly taking this process seriously. Attention is being given to all aspects of this type of project,” per the Loomis district.
The project design that was presented during the meeting was Option C.4, which differs from A.2 and C.3 that were presented to the community earlier in the year.
Option C.3 was the larger of the two and would add a new gymnasium, locker rooms, an expanded cafeteria, kitchen, larger shop, art room and other additions and improvements. The estimated cost was $25 million.
Option C.4 is slightly modified with renovations of 14,160 square feet and new addition of 35,091 square feet for a total square footage of 108,854. The total cost of this option is $19.75 million.
The Loomis district would seek a 20-year bond at a 4.35 percent interest rate, the bond levy would be 33.6 cents per $100 of valuation.
The bond election is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9. Should the bond pass in September, groundbreaking is expected in the spring of 2026.
