Westonka board told state permit delays are reshaping high school remodel phasing; tennis-court surfacing set for late-May to June

Dustin, the district construction representative, told the WESTONKA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT board on May 14 that state permit-review questions have delayed parts of the Westonka High School classroom-addition work and forced the project team to reshuffle phasing so interior classrooms are available at the start of school.

The change, Dustin said, affects exterior portions of the addition but not the project’s December completion target. “We have gotten verbal authorization from the state to start the footings of foundations. Still waiting on some of the other stuff. We are still waiting on the actual permit itself,” he said.

The district’s immediate priority, the contractor said, is to deliver roughly 20 classrooms needed for school operations in August. To meet that goal the team plans to turn over a southern portion of the upper-level classrooms and interior classrooms first, while postponing some exterior work that had been scheduled earlier in the phasing plan.

Superintendent Kevin described the change as a reshaping of what gets turned over when, not a change to the overall target completion. “The end date is still December. It’s just how they get turned over in that time frame between now and then that’s going to be altered,” Kevin said.

Dustin told the board the state has been exchanging questions with the project team, and that other local projects have seen similar delays. He said the state gave verbal permission to begin foundation work but the final permit to go beyond foundations remains outstanding.

At Grandview Middle School, the district reported no permit hold-ups: contractors have completed preinstallation coordination and are set to begin work when crews mobilize. Board members were told John (project staff) has been working with contractors to lock in the summer work plan.

On the Grandview tennis courts, the board heard from district staff relaying an update from Peterson Companies on the surfacing schedule. Peterson told the district the concrete preparation and testing work—shot blasting, joint caulking and water testing—will take about 8–10 days, surfacing will take 10–14 days and the surface requires roughly three days to cure, for an overall window of about 25–30 days if temperatures remain suitable.

When a board member asked about minimum temperatures for surfacing, Dustin confirmed the contractor needs daytime temperatures to stay consistently above about 50 degrees Fahrenheit to proceed. The district plans to publish a community update once a ribbon-cutting date is set; staff said the district is aiming for a fall celebration and will hold a June orientation for community pickleball users once courts are ready.

Board members asked about contingency and overtime options to recover schedule; Dustin said paying overtime at this stage would likely yield diminishing returns and that the team is focused on phasing choices to ensure classrooms are available in August. The district will post an updated phasing plan on its website and provide construction progress reports in June and July.

Tennis-court priority for scheduling will go first to school programming, the board was told, with community use available when courts are not in use by school teams or Community Ed programs.

The update closed with the district’s plan to revisit the schedule at the June and July meetings and with the facilities committee this week for more detailed oversight.