The Marion School addition is on schedule to be completed before school starts Sept. 4.

Construction for the 4,500-square-foot addition began April 9 and is two-thirds of the way finished. The estimated completion date is Aug. 15, according to Roy Beekman, project manager with Meredith Construction.

“We’re insulating Monday and will start putting in sheetrock next week,” Beekman said.

Voters passed a $500,000 bond to fund the addition in December.

The expansion creates three classrooms. One of the classrooms will be sectioned off into rooms for special education, speech, Title I services and a counselor’s office.

Special education and Title I services previously were based in the basement of the original part of the school building that did not meet fire codes, according to Principal Justin Barnes.

“Getting everyone out of the basement was a priority,” Barnes said. “We’re no longer going to use it for teaching. We might use it for storage.”

The expansion also includes administrative offices and two handicap-accessible bathrooms, which the school did not have previously.

This means Barnes will be able to move from his current office, a retrofitted janitor’s closet, and the district clerk from a room shared with the school furnace and water heater.

“It adds quite a bit of space for us,” Barnes said. “The whole building has changed.”

Marion School serves kindergarten through eighth grade. Enrollment at the end of the school year was approximately 115 students.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.