By Amanda Davis May 15, 2025 Updated 2 hrs ago
The USD 253 Board of Education officially signed a $3.6 million contract to significantly renovate the Emporia Middle School (EMS) track and field space during its regular Board meeting Wednesday night.
The proposed EMS project would renovate track and field spaces, and create new spaces for parking, bathrooms, and additional seating. The throwing area would be relocated from near Flint Hills Technical College to being located closer to EMS. ADA accessibility and lighting would be increased, and significant improvements would be made to the football and soccer field.
“I’m rather convinced that this is something that has been put off for a very long time, and it will most certainly cost more if we continue to put it off,” Jeremy Dorsey, USD 253 Board Member, said. “If we’re being smart, it’s all in, and that’s what I am comfortable with.”
Funding for the project will come from the Capital Outlay fund, meant purely for brick-and-mortor projects. Payment for the project could be broken up into two separate fiscal years.
ATG Sports, the contractor for the project, plans to break ground in three or four weeks. The football field would be complete mid-August, and the track would be complete in late September or early October.
Lilian Lingenfelter, USD 253 Board President, said that EMS students and parents had reached out in support of the project. The improved lighting and extra turf would allow the expansion of marching programs and increasing student activity after dark.
“Once it gets too dark in the evenings, our students are no longer able to participate in activities, even if we have a game scheduled,” Lingenfelter said. “If it is too dark, without light, we cannot safely be out there. We also talked about how we could expand marching band programs into the middle school as well.”
The USD 253 also approved the sale of the Kansas Avenue School Building to Frontier Development Group, for a total of $80,000, with $10,000 in earnest money. Frontier Development Group, a design and management firm, specializes in developing historic buildings into workforce housing, with its most recent success being the Cottonwood School Lofts development in Chase County.
The sale is contingent on multiple factors – a successful rezoning of the property, approval of a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District (RHID), and an award of a Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credit (KHITC). Once the sale is approved, Frontier Development Group plans to turn Kansas Avenue into a housing unit, while keeping the historical character of the building intact.
In other news, Eric Woltje, McCownGordon Senior Project Manager, provided an update on the completion of 2019 bond construction projects. The project included renovations and additions to all nine schools, including a completely new Jones Early Childhood Development Center and recently finished expansions at William Allen White Elementary.
The USD 253 Board of Education also approved updates to the 2025-2026 academic calendar.
Source: https://www.emporiagazette.com/education/article_d85a71c9-16a3-4e4a-ba31-b0070e7e625a.html
