Demolition has begun on a building where Leawood and Overland Park youngsters had been learning since 1960.
With approval from the Leawood City Council earlier this month on plans for the new building, contractors for the Shawnee Mission School District this week started taking down the Brookwood Elementary building that marked its 57th year in operation this past school year.
Interim Superintendent Kenny Southwick told the school board on Monday that the final cost estimates on the new building project come in at $17,329,870. The funding for the project comes from the $233 million bond issue approved by district patrons in January 2015. To date, roughly two-thirds of that money has been spent, and the district has the rest of it budgeted for additional infrastructure projects, including the new aquatic center that will break ground in Lenexa later this year.
Meanwhile, district staff are working to ready the Indian Creek Technology Center building a few blocks to the west of the Brookwood site for students for the coming school year. District crews installed Brookwood signage outside the building earlier this month:
Brookwood students will attend class at the Indian Creek building for at least three semesters while the new elementary building is under construction.
