By Scott Elpers

Derby Public Schools board members got their first look at design and construction documents for additions to El Paso Elementary and Oaklawn Elementary at the school board meeting on June 11. 

The two elementary schools, along with a new middle school, are on the top of the list of district-wide construction projects that will be paid for by a $66.6 million school bond.

Additions to Oaklawn and El Paso are currently in the design phase, with bidding starting as early as September for El Paso and November for Oaklawn, said Todd Snodgrass, director of operations for Derby Public Schools. 

Construction on the two schools will start immediately after bidding and should be completed in 2013. The schedule is tentative and could fluctuate depending on several variables, Snodgrass said.

Both elementary schools will get significant updates.  

El Paso will get three new identical kindergarten classrooms and a smaller resource room added to the back corner of the building, which will add nearly 4,600 square feet to the school. There will also be renovations to the main office area. 

Oaklawn will get a larger addition linked to the north side of the building in the open space near the Carlton building. 

“You have a gap, but it’s as minimal of a gap as you’re going to want,” said Richard Brown of Schaeffer, Johnson, Cox and Frey, lead architect for the project. “You also are close enough that if you ever want to in the future, you might be able to combine them.” 

The addition will feature four new classrooms, several smaller rooms and a large multipurpose room. Part of the new design will create a new driveway and drop-off point for students before and after school.

The addition will also rework the existing layout of the school, moving the front entrance of the building from the south side of the building to the north side.