High School Weight Room Now Finished
McDonald County High School’s new weight room, which was constructed in the area that used to be the stage in the large gym, is complete and awaiting equipment.
The downstairs portion is the weight room itself. The McDonald County R-1 School District Board of Education recently approved a bid for $56,755 from a company called Pro Maxima for weight equipment. The bid includes eight racks and installation.
Upstairs are coaches’ offices, a
a meeting room, and a film room. This area has windows overlooking the gym. Off the main area is a laundry storage area where uniforms are stored.
The school board shaved $1 million off the cost of the weight room from the original estimate. In December 2019, the district’s architect, Paragon, presented a price of $1,463,700 for the original design. At the time, the board voted to move forward with the design, but in January, some members had second thoughts, calling the proposal too expensive. They voted not to continue the project, but the architect proposed finding a less expensive option. In February the architect presented several options, and the board chose one they found acceptable. The final price of the weight room addition was $459,075, which is paid in full.
Athletic Director Bo Bergen said of the project, “The additional weight room will be a huge benefit to our kids. In terms of safety, it will greatly decrease congestion in our current weight room and add additional space for both weights and gym classes. Both weight rooms will be fully equipped to serve the needs of both girls and boys. The plan is to get on a rotation similar to how we structure basketball practice locations. Everyone will get to utilize both weight rooms regularly.
“Also, the area above the weight room will be a benefit. It will give our coaches a ‘home base’ with workspaces, a conference area, as well as a nice film area that can seat up to around 70 for our sports programs. We will be able to utilize the space for meetings and hospitality for any events we host. The overall project has already proven to be a much more efficient use of the space as a whole.”
The school board recently toured the weight room. Board president Frank Woods said, “The addition of the new weight room and upstairs storage and coaches area will be a great asset for the high school. The school was able to make great use of an area that was basically serving no purpose anymore. Also, beyond athletics, this will relieve a big problem of not having enough space for all of our physical education programs. Trying to fit so many students into the current 40x40 facility has been a tremendous challenge for the physical education department. I am very excited for the high school.”
Board vice president Josh Banta said, “This is a need for our students to not only help them have a better way to improve performance and health but the additional facility helps us keep kids safe and healthy since we can reduce crowding with the additional space.”
“The overall project has already proven to be a much more efficient use of the space as a whole.”
Bo Bergen Athletic Director