Kingston Board Awards Contract For Gymnasium/Fines Arts Center

The Kingston Board of Education voted to award a contract to Brockmiller Construction, Inc. (Farmington), for the construction and furnishing of a new gymnasium and fine arts center during a special session last Wednesday, December 7th.

Brockmiller will build the complex for a contracted amount of $5,947,458.32. Groundbreaking is set for January 2023. The gymnasium and fine arts complex is Phase One of a capital improvement project for Kingston High School. No capital improvements for additional space have been made to the high school since its completion in 1996.
The Kingston K-14 Board of Education voted back in January to place a no-tax-increase general obligation bond issue on the April 2022 ballot to be used for the construction of a new gymnasium complex. With the passage of the bond issue by district voters, the project has moved forward with the design phase completed by Incite Design Studio (St. Louis). A combination of funding sources will be used for the project.

Funding options include federal ESSER monies appropriated to the schools and the sale of construction bonds approved by voters. In 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Congress passed three stimulus bills (American Rescue Plan Act) which provided nearly $190.5 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. States received funds based on the same proportion that each state receives under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title-IA.

No timetable for completion of the project can be fully projected. Weather delays and supply chain problems in this construction climate cannot be predicted. Photos during construction will be published in The Independent-Journal as they become available.