School Offices Will Be Displaced in $3.36 Million Reconstruction Project

A news release from West Des Moines Community Schools:

Several services provided by the West Des Moines Community Schools will be temporarily relocated to 815 Eighth Street in West Des Moines due to a construction project at the district’s Learning Resource Center at 3550 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines.

The total estimated budget for the renovation project is $3.36 million, which will be paid for through sales tax funds. According to Iowa law, these funds can only be spent on construction projects and cannot be used to pay for the general operation of the district or educational programing.

From mid-April to September 2013, the LRC building will be closed and the following services will operate from the temporary Eighth Street location:

• Community Education, which includes the following programs and services - Adventures, Brighter Beginnings, Facilities Rental, Intramurals, Kids West, LEARNwest, Preschool Programs, Project Shine, Service Learning, Summer of Learning, and Wellness;
• District Registrar
• Instructional Material Center, which offers laminating, die cuts and more
• Human Resources
• Business and Accounting
• Community Relations
• Teaching and Curriculum
• Nutrition

In addition to the above services, the district superintendent and district administration will be located at the Eighth Street location.

The mailing address and phone numbers for the district services listed above will remain the same. Hours for the building will remain Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Starting April 15, in-person inquiries, payments, registrations and reservations for Community Education services will take place at the 8th Street location. A drop box will be available at the temporary location after-hours.

The Instructional Material Center (IMC)  will close April 15-23 and will reopen April 24 at the Eighth Street building. IMC services will be scaled back due to space. Please contact the IMC at 633-5050 for the list of available services. The IMC hours will be Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The district services listed above are normally provided at the LRC, which was built in 1994 and serves as the headquarters of the 9,000-student, 1,200-employee public school district.

The remodeling project is part of the district’s 10-year facilities plan, which was approved by the Board of Education and developed with input from staff, administrators, parents, and community members through meetings, a website survey and public forums. The renovation project includes upgrading the 18-year-old heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system, upgrading the interior lighting system, upgrading telephone and data systems, replacing the fire alarm system, providing new paint and carpeting, and improving space allocation and arrangements to better serve the students, public and district staff who enter the building. 

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