BURLINGTON — The city’s school district showed off $7.2 million in renovations and upgrades to Edmunds Middle and Elementary Schools Thursday night.
The renovations were made as part of a 2017 bond city voters approved with 70% support to address capital improvements and infrastructure challenges throughout the district.
“What you see here today is the result of taxpayers investing in our children — creating new spaces for children to eat, receive medical treatment and safe transportation from classroom to classroom,” Burlington School District Superintendent Yaw Obeng said.
The construction was broken up over two phases in the last two years, starting in June of 2018 and ending last November, with noticeable activity on the lawn abutting Main Street. The first phase brought a new dedicated kitchen and cafeteria in the basement. Before renovations, the gym doubled as the cafeteria and lead to scheduling difficulties. That gym now has a new floor, windows, lights and paint. The kitchen was also upgraded with a new walk-in refrigerator-freezer and all gas appliances.
The first phase also brought new flooring to most hallways, maplewood trim along the walls, new lighting and HVAC systems and energy efficiency upgrades.
The second phase included a new entryway in the middle of the two buildings that is now in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The two schools were built in the early 20th century, and accessibility challenges had long plagued the buildings. With the new entryway, ramps inside and a new elevator, students with disabilities will be able to access nearly all parts of the school.
The second phase also saw construction of a new nurse’s office, sidewalks, landscaping and stormwater improvements.
“Over 700 Burlington students and their families walk and roll to our Edmunds Middle and Elementary Schools,” Burlington School Board Chair Clare Wool said. “We enhanced the original workmanship and listened to you, our community, on the layout and design of our improvement.”
Dr. Shelley Mathias, Edmunds Elementary principal, said the looks on the faces of students and faculty upon entering the schools after the upgrades “said it all.”
“The wonder and joy at a beautiful space, a space that says to our students ‘You are important here and what you do here is important to your future,’” Mathias said.
Mathias highlighted the changes to the cafeteria and gyms. She said the old basement was mainly used for storage and housed a lot of kitchen equipment in a dark room.
“Truth be told, we used to call the basement ‘The Dungeon,’” Mathias said.
But with the renovated gym and new designated cafeteria, the school has already seen more consistency in scheduling and longer, more productive class time.
Mathias also touched on the new entryway, saying the single entrance — with ADA compliant ramps on the north and south sides — greatly increases security for the schools, as it leads directly to the main office.
“This investment will last for decades and serve thousands of students,” Mathias said.
Burlington Schools Property Services Director Marty Spaulding said one of the main focuses for the renovations was improving security for the schools and meeting ADA requirements.
“Both of these factors are so important to how schools are used today,” Spaulding said. “However, they simply were not considered when these schools were built in the early 1900s.”
Obeng, Wool and Mathias cut a ribbon to close the announcement.
Spaulding and Randy Burnett from Colin P. Lindberg, a Burlington-based architectural firm who worked with the district on the upgrades, led the nearly 30 people in attendance on a brief tour of the new spaces.
Residents taking the tour overwhelming had positive things to say about the upgrades, and were impressed with the lighting and hallway designs.
To close the announcement, Obeng presented Mathias with a cake, as she recently announced her retirement from Edmunds.
