With school and city officials, teachers, students and construction managers on hand, a groundbreaking ceremony took place Friday afternoon with paw print shovels for the expansion project at Zahnow Elementary School off Hamacher Street in Waterloo.

Per an article published Jan. 24, the planning phase for this project began in 2022 as the district saw a substantial uptick in early education enrollment which required early childhood and pre-K classes at Zahnow to be moved to Gardner Elementary.

The project’s construction phase actually began last year as a major upgrade to the school’s parking lot and drop-off lane was completed last summer.

As for the school, construction will see the addition of four classrooms as well as a new office space for enhanced safety.

The current office space will be removed for asbestos abatement, replaced with a multi-purpose and recreational area for indoor recess and other activities.

A number of district faculty and administration were present at the groundbreaking ceremony Friday, along with several individuals who have been participating in the project’s organization.

Among these individuals were Waterloo Superintendent of Schools Brian Charron, Zahnow Social Worker Mike Nehre, Zahnow Principal Justin Imm and Waterloo School Board Secretary Kim Ahne – each of whom briefly spoke – as well as representatives of FGM Architects, construction manager Holland Construction and Huebner Concrete.

Charron spoke first.

“We’ve been monitoring enrollment in the district for over a decade,” Charron said. “It’s been trending up, mainly at this building. Our other buildings have additional classrooms, more than Zahnow Elementary. It was the summer of ‘22 that we ran out of room when we learned what kindergarten enrollment was going to be and we had to move EC and pre-K to Gardner Elementary, and we knew that was the time to get very serious about this issue.”

Charron noted the substantial amount of work that has gone into the planning process, also explaining the multipurpose room was not part of the original plan and instead seemed like a reasonable, faster alternative to a roughly $5 million gymnasium which was previously entertained as a four- to five-year project.

Nehre followed, voicing excitement at being able to bring the youngest students back to Zahnow as well as the staff’s general anticipation for the project.

“We’re just pumped about this,” Nehre said. “I know staff has already been talking about the multipurpose space, the many different ways we can use that. I’ve already figured out where I can carve a space there to take kids to talk. We are pumped. I don’t think in our wildest dreams we thought this would happen this quickly.”

Imm offered general thanks for everyone in attendance, also expressing his thanks for Charron, the school board, Building and Grounds Director Will Hulett, Special Education Coordinator Julie Bender, Curriculum Coordinator Jessica Washausen and everyone else contributing to the planning and construction process.

Ahne echoed Charron’s sentiments about how much work has gone into the project, noting how frequently the plans changed and expressing his hope that the renovation will serve the district well.