ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — On Tuesday morning, Rock Island-Milan School District #41 broke ground on a new, $7.6 million administration center.
The new building will be on the corner of 6th Avenue and 20th Street in Rock Island and will include 15,000 square feet of administration offices; a 15,000-square-foot warehouse for storage; and a 5,000-square-foot production kitchen.
Right now, the space where the new center will sit is an empty lot, just down the block from the district's present administration offices, which are housed in a three-story building built back in 1912.
Money for the project will come from a 1% sales tax.
"We're excited that this day has finally come for us," said Dr. Reginald Lawrence, the district's superintendent. "Move to a one-level building where you don't have to worry about going three levels of stairs to carry supplies."
He said eventually, the new center will be a gathering space for students, staff and the community. The district will also be able to host its school board meetings at the location.
"I'd like to see students use the kitchen, you know, make cookies," Lawrence said. "We can produce things for some of our meetings. There'll be some space in there where we can have the community come in and potentially host some meetings. We really do want this to be a part of not just the district, but a way to invite the community in and let them know that this is part of yours as well."
The project has been a long time coming, marred by COVID-19 related delays, supply shortages and funding worries. But with a boost from the sales tax, the center can finally become a reality, said Michael Matherly, vice president of the school board.
"It shows a desire for growth and continual improvement and not wanting to be stagnant," Matherly said. "This will give our central district administration a better working environment to hopefully come up with better plans and strategies and programs for our kids to better their educational experience in our district."
But one of the largest benefits, might just be the tastiest.
The addition of the production kitchen gives the district a central kitchen: something the Rock Island-Milan nutrition services team has been looking for for more than 30 years.
At the moment, the team is forced to work out of the high school, Washington Junior High, Edison Junior High as well as a small kitchen out of the Center of Math and Science.
"Having a central kitchen instead will just allow us so much space and storage," said Beth MacKenna, the district's director of nutrition services.
Her team is currently responsible for roughly 4,000 lunches every day. However, those numbers are down from pre-pandemic levels and the team says it's going to continue to rise.
"I think this central kitchen really couldn't have come at a better time," MacKenna said. "This will allow us to have more streamlined meals, more consistency, more variety. And I think that our students are just going to be excited."
Actual construction on the lot is expected to begin the first week of April.