R-II Board approves plan for old elementary cafeteria

TOM PINNEY/DAILY FORUM
Coming soon… Pictured is the former cafeteria at Eugene Field Elementary School. With Board of Education approval, the space will be transformed into a new library and media center for Eugene Field, which Superintendent Dr. Becky Albrecht hopes will be ready by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

With the completion of a new cafeteria and kitchen space at Eugene Field Elementary School over the summer, the former cafeteria and kitchen space became open. There is now a plan for that space.

During the regular meeting of the Maryville R-II Board of Education Wednesday night, Superintendent Dr. Becky Albrecht proposed a new plan for using the former cafeteria — turning it into a new library and media center, and transitioning the current library and media center into classroom space.

Eugene Field Elementary principal Bryan Lynn said the design is currently in its infancy due to the district’s other projects.

“We will be able to design the space how we want,” Lynn said. “We are going to evaluate several media centers in the region to see what we want ours to look like, and the renovation project will be done mostly in-house using the district’s maintenance personnel.”

With no objections, the board accepted the proposal. Because a design is not in place, there is no strict timeline for the project; however, since it is an indoor renovation project, work is currently scheduled to begin during the winter.

Because the renovation will benefit the school’s existing GO program, some of the funding will come from program grant money. Albrecht and Lynn hope the new media center will be complete in time for the first day of school in 2017.

More on the Maryville R-II Board of Education meeting will be published in the Maryville Daily Forum on Friday, Oct. 21.