Campus Renovations

Illinois Elementary School Breaks Ground on $6.7M Expansion

• By Matt Jones
• 03/08/23

Local news reports that Sherrard Elementary School in Sherrard, Ill., recently broke ground on a $6.7-million expansion project. The campus’ new building measures in at 14,750 square feet and will contain two new classrooms, conference rooms, and a new gymnasium. The expansion is the district’s first major construction project in more than 20 years, according to WQAD.

“I think it’ll help not only with scholastic events here, but it will also help with the community,” said district superintendent Carl Johnson. “We have a great partnership with the community in the village, and this will be another space … for a variety of groups that want to come in and use it.”

The project is being funded through federal money and lower bond rats, local news reports. “We took advantage of the money and the financing that we had, so the overall tax rate in the district remained unchanged because of the refinancing of the old bonds,” said Johnson.

Development on the project started in 2020, when school principal Casey Wyant first started in his current role. “It seemed like a pipe dream in the distant future—but here we are, scooping the first shovels of dirt, imagining the renderings of the building just behind us, and dreaming,” said Wyant.

Johnson also commented that the size of the new gymnasium—88 feet by 84 feet—will allow for district-wide meetings of elementary school students, instead of having to convene at the nearby high school.