Children and parents cleaned plastic book tubs, desks, tables and chairs in existing part of the school. It is being updated with new paint, carpeting, windows, ceilings, an interior sprinkling system, air conditioning, heating and ventilation upgrades.

“We had a couple dozen volunteers in the school yesterday (Thursday) and about the same number Friday. It was great to see them here. It’s so exciting. I can’t wait to see this when it’s all done,” said St. Paul’s Lutheran School Principal Peter Markgraf.

He said City of New Ulm officials inspected the school Thursday and reported it could be occupied.

Meanwhile, much of the heavy lifting Friday was done by contractors, a good number of them local. A couple semi tractor trailers were backed up to the southeast school doors.

Staff photo by Fritz Busch St. Paul’s Lutheran Elementary School students Amelia Hermanson, left, and Ikey Hermanson scrub book tubs in the school Friday.

Heavy equipment and guys with hard hats on worked on the large construction piece. It features a new entrance, elevator, expanded, handicapped accessible lavatories, pre-school classrooms, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lab and an art lab on the southwest corner of the school.

“We did our best to use local contractors and businesses for the $6.7 million building project approved by church members in September 2018,” Markgraf said.

He said the school’s new main entrance will provide added school security.

MR Construction Paving & Excavating of New Ulm began exterior site work at the school early last May. Demolition work began inside the school in late May. New entrance construction including first floor offices and second floor STEM and art labs began soon after. That project is forecast to be complete in October or November.

For more information, visit https://splnewulm.org/school/building-project/

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).