New Shay Elementary School on track to be open by fall

HARBOR SPRINGS — The sights on a drive down Lake Street will soon be rid of construction trucks and fences, and instead show off a brand new elementary school, with construction expected to be completed by fall.

The old Shay Elementary School building was demolished in fall 2022 after voters approved the district’s $41.85 million bond proposal, and a new elementary school building will be put in its place.

Construction at the site carries on, with the building still on track to be ready to open in time for the start of the 2024-25 school year, Harbor Springs Superintendent Brad Plackemeier said.

Once construction wraps up, Plackemeier said there are plans to have a few open houses so people can see the new building before the first day of school.

At the school, brickwork is completed and metal roofing is in progress. In the interior, Plackemeier said, ceiling grids are going in and walls are being painted.

“It’s really looking like an actual school now on the inside instead of just a shell,” he said.

As the different parts of the school start to come together — like seeing the scoreboard in the gym or what colors the walls will be — Plackemeier said he’s getting excited to have students in the building.

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“It’s really looking like a school and that’s the part where you just kind of realize in a couple months it’s going to be full of kids, and I think it’s going to be a really good thing,” he said.

The school will house students between kindergarten and fourth grade. Blackbird Elementary School will transition to an early childhood center and offer preschool classes.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: New Shay Elementary School on track to be open by fall