Loomis Public Schools, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
LOOMIS — The Loomis Public Schools district is seeking a bond to address a lack of space which has become acute. Two different plans are being presented to the public.
The Loomis school board and administration have spent the past several years putting together a plan for potential expansion as conversations with faculty revealed a widespread issue, the lack of space in the building.
According to a timeline in a presentation presented by Loomis Public Schools staff, by the fall of 2023 it had become apparent that classrooms were packed to capacity due to growing enrollment.
It was noted that classes have had to be split and there are still over 20 students in classrooms at times. All of the current rooms at the school are occupied and this leaves the district with no extra pace.
Discussions with staff and a survey in April 2024 showed the aging facilities were undersized for the needs of the district.
For instance, with the addition of NSAA girls wrestling as an activity, there have had to be space restrictions at the school. In the coming year, the district expects to have 16 boys and five girls out for wrestling.
At the nursing station, there is no place for a sick student to wait for their parents to pick them up. A picture provided by the district shows a student lying down under a desk as they await their parents.
It was also noted that in several cases, hallways are having to be used for overflow storage.
The current enrollment of the Loomis district is 268 students, with a difference of around 80 option students in the district.
Through May and June 2024, Loomis administration contacted and engaged with Wilkins ADP to conduct a facility audit to determine their exact needs. By July, Wilkins shared their findings with the board.
The facility audit determined that the 1954 building has HVAC issues, and that the existing shop space, cafeteria, wrestling room and weight room are all undersized. As participation in activities is 75 percent or higher.
The high school addition is still in good shape, it was constructed back in 2008, but it is also lacking in space as classrooms have filled up.
In September 2024, board members toured the school building additions and expansions at Wilcox, Amherst and Cozad. By October, Wilkins ADP provided the board with several options based on their findings from the facility audit and the advisory committee priorities.
Moving into 2025, the board worked to hire a construction manager and eventually selected Hausman Construction in February.
“The board of education and administrative team of Loomis Public Schools are truly taking this process seriously. Attention is being given to all aspects of this type of project,” per the Loomis district.
One of those aspects was the need to create a quality and viable educational option for the Loomis district residents and the potential for option enrollment students. “Loomis has used option enrollment to its benefit for many years and creating the best learning environment puts our best foot forward to continue to be a viable option for all students,” per the district.
It was also noted that the board and administration want to make Loomis an attractive option if a voluntary or forced merger of school districts will come in the future. The district stated the long-term vitality of the community truly hinges on having a school in the community well into the future.
“We view Loomis Public Schools as something worth fighting for, both for our current staff and students and for future generations of students and community members that call Loomis home,” according to the district.
There are two options that are being presented to the public.
Option A.2 offers a larger cafeteria, added classrooms and a larger wrestling and weight room. The estimated cost would be around $9.4 million.
Option C.3 is the larger of the two and would add a new gymnasium, locker rooms, an expanded cafeteria, kitchen, larger shop, art room and other additions and improvements. The estimated cost $25 million.
Looking ahead, a second of two community input meetings will be held in May, followed by more bond input and community education to come in June and July. The bond election is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Should the bond pass in September, groundbreaking is expected in the spring of 2026.
