JOHN DAY — Grant School District Superintendent Mark Witty is on a mission to leave the district in a better place than he found it.

The district has embarked on an extensive capital improvement campaign that will see everything from the heating, ventilation and cooling system at Grant Union Jr./Sr. High School to building access and security throughout the district upgraded to modern standards. There are 13 projects totaling just under $7.5 million in various stages of completion underway throughout the district.

Funding for the projects comes from a variety of sources.

One source is a Business Oregon Seismic Grant that is being used for the second phase of seismic upgrades at Humbolt Elementary.

Another source is DAS HB5202 funds, which Witty describes as money straight from the Legislature that will cover Humbolt Elementary’s HVAC system, seismic roof repairs at Grant Union Jr./Sr. High School and a feasibility study examining the construction of a new school building to replace Grant Union.

ESSER III funds, which are distributed as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, will cover improvements to the Grant Union student commons, upgrades to Humbolt’s playground equipment and the replacement of Grant Union’s HVAC system.

Six other projects will be paid for using district funds. The district also has a contingency fund of more than $1.5 million to help offset unforeseen costs associated with the various projects.

“We have a contingency that we’re working with because we’ve got to be realistic about the inflationary costs that occurred in construction over the last five years or so,” Witty said.

Witty said many of the projects being undertaken by the district are infrastructure improvements that are necessary due to the ages of both Grant Union and Humbolt Elementary.

Grant Union was built in the 1930s, “so it’s quite aged,” Witty said. “Humbolt I’m not as confident on the years on that one — I would think around the 1950s.”

There have always been efforts to improve the school as far back as Witty remembers, but he said nothing on the scale of the current construction has ever been undertaken that he knows of.

“There’s always been things that we were doing and making some improvements,” he said. “But I do think that if you look at that, the total investment is $7.4 million. That is the biggest push in my experience here at Grant School District, for sure.”

Aaron Lieuallen is the project manager responsible for overseeing the whole enterprise. Lieualllen said the number of projects going on can seem overwhelming at first, but the undertaking is manageable when viewed as individual pieces.

“It’s not as daunting as it can look when we break it down,” he said. “Not all of these are happening at the same time.”

There have been hang-ups, snags and delays to projects, mostly due to ongoing supply chain issues that are still plaguing projects even after the COVID pandemic.

“We could manage the timelines a lot quicker, but their supply chain consistently has been challenging,” Witty said. “Especially on key components that are very specific.”

Witty added that supply chain issues tend to creep up when electrical components are involved.

Despite those challenges, Witty and Lieuallen said they expect the lion’s share of the 13 projects now underway to be completed sometime in 2025. That may seem like a long ways off, but Witty stressed the need for proper planning, which can make the difference between a project’s success or failure.

“I guess what I’ve learned over the years is it’s better to spend a little extra time on the planning end and it gives you a better product at the outcome,” he said.

“You’re going to have some change orders because you’re doing remodels, so you can’t avoid it. If we rushed the planning, you know, I can share a few examples in my career where the outcome wasn’t as good as it could have been.”

Project overview

Humbolt seismic Phase 2

$1,445,205

Humbolt HVAC

$938,700

GU seismic roof repairs (completed)

$1,094,040

GUHS replacement feasibility study

$250,000

Crow’s nest at Seventh Street

$157,800

School District fencing

$282,900

GUHS student commons

$122,500

Humbolt playground equipment

$351,953

Grant Union HVAC

$832,053

District maintenance facility

$263,100

Humbolt paving (completed)

$85,620

GU paving (completed)

$35,670

Humbolt SpEd (completed)

$15,947

Building access and security

$67,644

Contingency fund

$1,556,368