A few months from now, Plum’s O’Block Elementary is set to look much different.
The building, which houses kindergarten through fourth grade, will receive a large addition and major renovations throughout its interior and exterior.
District officials, together with a half dozen O’Block students, held a groundbreaking ceremony at the school in late December.
But work began at the building before the ceremony late last year, according to Plum Superintendent Rick Walsh.
Walsh said the district is working to complete the roughly $25 million project as rapidly as possible.
O’Block will see a reorganized floor plan with new classroom wings, new special education classrooms, dedicated sensory spaces, dedicated space for music and band, and updated interior finishes throughout the building, among several other improvements.
On the outside, O’Block will get a new front entrance canopy, a new roof, a new ADA-compliant playground and play area, a parent drop-off loop and several other updates.
That’s all in addition to improvements in the guts of the building, such as a new fire protection and alarm system; and updated HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
The addition will be complete by the end of summer, Walsh said, but other work will continue.
Students will partially move into the new space at the start of next school year so crews can begin renovations on existing areas of O’Block, he said.
Work in existing portions of the school and exterior redesigns are set to be complete by the end of summer 2027.
Plum School Board President Renee Richardson said the plans were designed to be the least disruptive to students.
“They’re moving forward, but we’re trying to be mindful,” she said.
The project, which has been in the planning stages for several years, is being led by Robinson-based HDG Architects and Zelienople-based Eckles Construction Services.
It stems from a 2020 demographic study that indicated an increasing student population at O’Block would eventually put the building at its capacity, according to Walsh.
A Plum graduate, Walsh attended O’Block in the 1980s. Parts of the school, he said, haven’t changed much since then.
“The building is in need of attention,” he said.
The addition, Walsh said, would bring “stability and consistency” to the entire district.
Ongoing renovations at Plum Middle School, which began this summer, are also set to wrap up by the end of the year.
That building will see major roof improvements and upgrades to building infrastructure like its windows, doors and HVAC systems.
To fund the O’Block project and renovations at the middle school, the district opted to borrow $30 million over three years. Most of that money is earmarked for O’Block, but bids for the project came in several million dollars under projections earlier this year.
It’s not yet clear how those excess funds will be used, but some could be reallocated to further improvements at the middle school.
“We’re agile enough to make decisions along the way,” Walsh said.