Papillion La Vista Public Schools halfway through upgrades to elementary schools

LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV)– PLCS started renovations on elementary schools last year and now they are halfway through the construction process. So what changes are being made?

• The 54 year school made renovations due to meet new standards
• the renovations include interior and exterior changes, like classroom and playground upgrades
• The project will be completed by Aug. 2025

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Updates to Papillion La Vista schools are underway with more still to come.

Parkview elementary is just one of the public schools that is under construction for this district.

Randy Guthmiller, principal of Parkview Elementary has been looking forward to his school getting upgrades and now the project is already halfway done.

"It’s needed... our building I think this is year 54," he said.

Guthmiller said the standards are a lot different than they use to be when the school was first built and now changes need to be made for kids to do their best, especially in the classroom.

The classrooms are going from 600 square feet to over 800 and Guthmiller says this change is big a one.

"It provides so much more room in our classroom for kids to be able to collaborate and work in small groups and not feel like they are on top of each other," Guthmiller said.

Guthmiller also made sure the playground was renovated to be ADA compliant and meet the needs of all students and this project was finished before the students returned for the school year.

The project for park view will cost around $7.5 million but it was something that was important to the community.

"Just the improvements we have seen so far inside the building, it's going to look like a brand-new facility,” Guthmiller said. “It’s going to be such a wonderful addition to our community and our students and our families."

And Parkview isn't the only one getting these changes... Hickory Heights, Tara Heights and Trumble Park elementary schools are all under construction and construction on the middle schools start in the fall.
Although these projects are happening while students are in school… randy says students may hear it sometimes, they will never see it.

The elementary schools are expected to be finished by august 2025 and the middle schools are expected to finish in 2026.