Fort Osage breaks ground on new gymnasium

Fort Osage coaches and student athletes take a turn at shoveling some dirt at the ceremonial ground-breaking for the construction of a new gymnasium that is funded by a successful bond issue and levy transfer in 2021. Photo from the Fort Osage School District, Facebook.

Step by step, the Fort Osage School District keeps working through that list of priority projects set in the district’s community-driven master plan.

The latest: A crowd gathered at the high school campus June 20 to turn some ceremonial dirt on the construction of a new gymnasium.

The gym project was one of the priorities the district identified when it asked voters in April 2021 to pass a 32-cent levy transfer from debt service to operating levy to finish some of the outstanding projects. Voters passed the measure overwhelmingly, along with a $20 million bond issue.

Other projects under the bond issue and levy transfer include including renovating kitchen facilities, constructing a building for transportation, maintenance and district offices, various parking lot and driveway improvements, and expanding and renovating the band room at the high school.