SHERRARD, Ill. — Sherrard Elementary School has begun work and broken ground on a $6.7 million expansion.
The addition will bring two new classrooms, conference rooms and an 88' by 84' gym to the school.
The new building, which will measure 14,750 square feet in size, is the first major project for the Sherrard School District in over 20 years.
"I think it'll help not only with scholastic events here, but it will also help with the community," superintendent Carl Johnson said. "We have a great partnership with the community in the village and this will be another space... for a variety of groups that want to come in and use it."
The project has been in development since 2020 when principal Casey Wyant first took his position.
"It seemed like a pipe dream in the distant future - but here we are scooping the first shovels of dirt, imagining the renderings of the building just behind us and dreaming," Wyant said.
Funding for the expansion came from federal money and lower bond rates.
"We took advantage of the money and the financing that we had, so the overall tax rate in the district remained unchanged because of the refinancing of the old bonds," Johnson said.
Johnson added that the new gym will make it easier to bring elementary school students from across the district together, as they currently have to meet at the nearby high school gym instead.
"It'll be a big enough space that every elementary kid in the district can gather in one area, So it's going to be a great advancement for the district," he said.
Construction is set to begin on March 20th, with a planned completion date of December 2023.
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