Brunswick City Schools looking to start expansion projects at Applewood and Kidder this summer

BRUNSWICK — The expansion projects at Applewood and Kidder elementary schools are anticipated to begin this summer as Brunswick Schools works toward finishing the different parts of its facilities master plan. Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer said two approximately 1,250-square-foot preschool classrooms and student restrooms will be added to Kidder's north side of the building. On the south side of Kidder, there will be a new approximately 1,100-square-foot art classroom. "Only one of our elementary schools has a preschool program, and that is Kidder," he said. "The addition of two classrooms will help us meet the rising demand of preschool classrooms in our school district." A hallway on Applewood's east side of the building will be extended to add four, 850-square-foot classrooms, Niedermeyer said. There will also be restrooms for students and a single-use restroom for staff. Brunswick Schools closed Towslee Elementary School last year, and the new high school will be on the site of the former school. He said when Towslee closed, the majority of Towslee students then went to Applewood or Huntington Elementary School. "Huntington is built in a way that we knew we could take more students and fit them more comfortably," Niedermeyer said. "We wanted to put ourselves in a position where we could be flexible with our student population, and we knew that by adding four classrooms over there (at Applewood) that would give us the ability to be flexible." The district is in the middle of design development for the elementary school expansions, he said. The next step is for Brunswick Schools to show its plans to the Brunswick Planning Commission to get feedback at its April 17 meeting. Construction is expected to begin in the late summer, and both additions are estimated to be finished for the 2026-27 school year. "We're trying to look at the schedule to work during times where it's not going to interrupt student learning," Niedermeyer said. "We're very careful about looking at the construction schedule to put us in a position to not be disruptive to the students at Applewood or Kidder while we look to add these additions on." The new maintenance department, which is at the site of the former Willetts Middle School, is under construction. He said once the ground is a little drier, the slab will be poured. Then, garage doors will be put on, so work can start inside the building. "We're really focused on trying to get the maintenance department up and operational as quickly as possible," Niedermeyer said. "We need to bring our existing maintenance facility down because that is sitting on the footprint of where the new (high school) will go. There's some early site work that needs to be done over there, and we can't get to that until we've been able to move our maintenance equipment over to the new facility." The groundbreaking for the new 302,000-square-foot high school is set to happen on May 3, he said. Then, the foundation will be poured for the new high school, which is expected to be open for the 2027-28 school year. "We are really excited about building a building that is going to educate students for generations to come," Niedermeyer said. "To see all the input from our community take the shape in the form of a building, that's just really exciting. We're proud of the work that we've done so far, and we're looking forward to providing our community with something that everyone will be proud of." The projects are funded by a $102 million bond issue that passed in May 2023. To learn more about construction projects within the district, visit tinyurl.com/2xandkn4. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.