Concrete Poured for Henley Foundation
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Dan Kinsman and Brian Kinsman, owners of Kinsman Concrete, operate the laser screed during the concrete pour of the foundation of Henley Middle School’s new classroom building.
New building will add four classrooms to Henley Middle School
Workers poured the concrete foundation of a new classroom building at Henley Middle School Thursday, starting before sunrise and spending the day leveling, smoothing and buffing the surface.
The next step is to frame the 6,400-square-foot building, which will provide four additional classrooms to the school and replace aging modulars, said Dennis Zullo, project manager for the Klamath County School District. He added that the modulars at Henley Middle as well Peterson Elementary, which were replaced with the new classroom building this fall, will be demolished this summer.
KCSD’s Glenn Tillery and Eduardo Ramirez work the concrete as a school bus passes by.
The new classrooms are needed, said Mike Kappas, vice principal at Henley Middle School.
“A big piece of this is facility improvement, but part of it also is to accommodate growth,” he said, adding that the school had to hire an additional teacher after the school year started because of enrollment.
“This pod of four classrooms will be a nice addition to our school, and it gives us more space, not just for today but for the future,” he said.
Klamath County School District, which is the general contractor on the project, hired Kinsman Construction, which used its laser concrete screed machine to level the surface. Other subcontractors were Southern Oregon Concrete Pumping and Knife River Concrete.
It took workers about three hours to pour the concrete, which was done through a hose attached to a sky-high truck crane. Klamath County School District maintenance crew members continued to work throughout the day, putting finishing touches on the surface.
Construction on the new classrooms south of the middle school cafeteria began in late fall. The project – which will be similar to Peterson Elementary School’s six-classroom, fifth-sixth grade building – is expected to be complete and ready for students by the time school starts in fall 2019.
A new Henley Elementary School, which is adjacent to the middle school, opened in January 2016. The project at Henley Middle will add to the positive climate of the Henley Complex, said Kristy Creed, principal at Henley Middle School.
“This project will serve to enhance the quality of education that that Henley Middle School already provides,” she said. “Having our primary feeder school and high school located within the same complex fosters a true feeling of cohesiveness and results in students knowing that they are truly a part of the Henley community in updated and improved facilities.”
Another four-classroom building will be constructed at Stearns Elementary School next year for occupancy in fall 2020. The school board approved a $4.1 million, 20-year debt issuance for the three-school project in December 2016.
