Renovations at Minooka's oldest school nearly done
MINOOKA -- By this time next year young students in Minooka preschool, early childhood and some kindergarten classes will have a place of their own.
The district's old intermediate building on Church Street will house those children as well as kindergarten students who would have attended Minooka Elementary and Aux Sable schools.
Kindergartners who live within the boundaries of Walnut Trails and Jones Elementary schools will continue to attend those buildings.
Preschool and early childhood classes have been moved around from school to school, wherever space allowed. Classes have been held in a separate wing of Minooka Junior High for the past three years.
Two new schools were erected to accommodate student growth -- the new Minooka Intermediate and Jones Elementary. Minooka Elementary on Coady Drive was renovated and brought up to current standards.
The old intermediate school, the oldest building in the district, underwent drastic changes, said Superintendent Al Gegenheimer.
On the main classroom level of the two-story building, each room is equipped with child-friendly sinks and new technology; hallway lockers were replaced with cubbies; bathrooms equipped with child friendly fixtures and additional bathrooms installed; and a play area was added on the west side of the building.
The entire building received a face lift, with paint and staining, new roof, new windows and a security system.
"When you see what they have done (you won't believe it)," said Gegenheimer. "It looks terrific."
The building was built in 1924 and served grade 1-12 students until 1961. It became Minooka High School from 1961 to 1971 and then Minooka Junior High until 1997 as the new high school and junior high were built.
Most recently the building housed intermediate level students in grades 4-6, depending on the capacity of other buildings. One year it housed only fifth-graders and last year both fifth- and sixth-graders attended there.
The facility will also house the district's administrative staff and storage area in the two-story section of the building. It was not cost prohibitive to renovate the basement or the upstairs portion of the building, said Gegenheimer. Those areas were cleaned and repainted.
For the past three years, the district has leased office space in downtown Minooka for administrative staff. That lease expires in July and cost the district $36,000 a year. Some administrators, in particular Dr. Stephen Palaniuk, assistant superintendent, will be able to move to the facility in the spring.
Now that it's near completion, the building will need a new name, Gegenheimer said. The district will hold a meeting soon to begin discussions.
"We hope not to call it the Old Minooka Intermediate School forever," he said.
