Sue Sitter/PCT Rugby Public Schools Superintendent Mike McNeff, center, explains the student drop-off area and parking lot being installed near the new front wing of Ely Elementary School.

Rugby Schools Superintendent Mike McNeff said he hopes a project to expand Ely Elementary School will reach substantial completion by Wednesday, Aug. 30.

McNeff led school board members on a tour of the project site after a board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 8. He showed portions of the building that were nearly finished, and other parts of the project that still needed work.

As the group walked through the building’s new and larger gym, it should be completed Wednesday, Aug. 30.

“But there will be, as you can see, some work to do,” said McNeff. “The floor will be in, but it may not be cured. We’re going to put a layer of sealant and put all the lines in and everything. The biggest thing is getting this done, so now, they’ll be coming back and laying all those tiny boards, so it will take a while.”

The new gym will accommodate junior high and elementary sporting events as well as choir and band performances.

“Part of this is we’ll have a really nice sound system in here,” said McNeff said. “They’ve installed all of that as well.”

McNeff then took the board through a new special education suite located in a portion of the building away from high traffic areas. He pointed out rooms for children to let off steam through movement and developing motor skills. The rooms are located in the area where the cafeteria was located. It could be used for occupational therapy, speech and mental health services to students with unique needs.

“A lot of school districts our size, in the 500 to 600-student enrollment maybe haven’t had new facilities for a while. They’re in dated buildings and have spaces that weren’t designed to meet our current needs for students with special needs,” said McNeff. “Not having students with special needs on the second floor is a good idea, because we have mobility needs and we want that located centralized on the first floor. It’s a thought-out space largely led by our architects.

The design also moves music classes to a second-floor area away from other classrooms to minimize distractions. Outside, McNeff explained the new student pickup-drop off area to reduce traffic congestion when classes start and end.

Rolls of artificial turf sat ready on the playground as workers assembled play equipment. The turf will bear the logo of the Rugby Amateur Hockey Association, who donated the turf.

The hockey association is one of several donors contributing equipment or funds to the project. The Rugby Public School Foundation, created through the North Dakota Community Foundation has raised more than $600,000 to fill a gap between original project estimates approved by voters and cost increases caused by inflation since the construction bond’s approval.

Supporters of the bond measure promised the project would not cause a property tax hike to fund it. Funds from keeping a mill levy in place from a previous project at Rugby High School along with a federal program to address COVID-related learning loss would cover the original $7.8 million price tag.

Since the bond measure’s approval Dec. 1, 2021, McNeff has approached the board with several cost increase updates. The increases amount to more than $1 million.

In addition to establishing the Rugby Public School Foundation, McNeff worked with other school districts to petition state legislators to allow districts to tap into the North Dakota Coal Development Trust Fund due to the unanticipated cost overruns caused by inflation.

Before the legislators changed the fund’s requirements for participation, districts could only receive money for unanticipated construction, replacement or repair projects.

The fund offers construction loans in amounts ranging from $250,000 to $2 million.

At the Aug. 8 meeting, the board approved a funding resolution authorizing the issuing of a $1.7 million bond to meet the gap caused by inflated construction costs.

McNeff said “the bond’s payments would be made annually starting June 24, 2024 from district accounts and sources such as the school foundation. He said he did not believe a mill levy would be necessary to pay for the loan.”

The 20-year loan has a 2% interest rate. The district will pay $366,945 in interest over the life of the loan.

District business manager Dawn Hauck reported results of a state audit of district records. The auditors made recommendations on very minor issues. One recommendation was to tie the district’s building fund to a bank account.

In other business, Rugby High School Principal Jared Blikre said he expected enrollment numbers to reach around 300 students by the start of the school year.

Ely Elementary Principal Jason Gullickson said the school would celebrate its new building additions by holding open houses for families and construction workers Wednesday, Aug. 16, and an open house reception for the public Wednesday, Aug. 23.

The board will hold its next regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 12 in the Rugby High School Library at 7 a.m.