Construction of GHS behind schedule

By Jim Tiffin
Staff Writer

GRANTS — The second phase of Grants High School's construction, additional classrooms and labs, is proceeding slightly behind schedule, said Kilino Marquez, Grants-Cibola County Schools superintendent.

The additional $6 million wing is being added to the original $5.5 million phase one, at the north end.

"We're not far behind schedule, we had a lot of rain this winter and spring and that set us back a few days," Marquez said.

The additional classrooms are in a two-story wing, similar to that of the first phase of construction and include science and vocational classrooms and laboratories, he said.

The vocational classrooms include welding and wood shop.

Last year the school's teaching and administrative staff moved into the phase one section during a weekend in October and it worked out well, said Rick Horacek, GHS principal.

Horacek said early October appears to be the tentative date of moving into the phase two section.

Several old buildings are under demolition as construction proceeds. One of those buildings caught on fire Tuesday as a result of construction.

The third phase of the school's construction is at the design phase and is budgeted at $8 million. It will soon to be put out to bid, Marquez said.

That phase will include construction of a new gymnasium.

The current gymnasium will not be demolished or moved. It will remain so that the school has two gyms to accommodate more sports schedules, and girls and boys games can be played simultaneously, saving transportation expenses for the district and visiting schools.

The final construction phase for the school will be a new theater arts complex. The funding for the project has not yet been approved by the New Mexico Public Schools Capital Outlay Council, Marquez said.

One other project under consideration is the refurbishing of the Junior ROTC building on the south campus.

The building was originally a gymnasium for the old Franklin Elementary School and is the only building from that complex remaining.

It is being used by the ROTC program exclusively. The ROTC drill team recently won the top spot in national competition in Florida competing against hundreds of other school districts, many much larger.

The cost of refurbishing the building is about $87,000, said Business and Finance Office Director George Perea.

Windows need to be replaced and the building needs to be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Marquez said.

Those funds would come from the state's Deficiencies Unit Construction program, but the money allocated there has almost been depleted.