Jamestown Public Schools officials and officials from Young & Wright Architectural and Turner Construction broke ground Tuesday on the next phase of capital improvements across the district with a special ceremony at Persell Middle School. From left are Owen Bean of Turner Construction, Connor Harrigan and Jazmine Nijjar of Young & Wright Architectural, Persell Principal Traci Thompson, Persell fifth grade student Blake Gonzalez, Persell sixth grade student Sophie Whittaker, and JPS Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

As part of the Jamestown Public Schools $123 million capital improvements project, Phase A groundbreaking was held Tuesday at Persell Middle School.

District taxpayers approved the project in December 2023.

“We are so excited to officially kick off Phase A of our next round of capital improvements district wide, beginning here today at Persell Middle School,” JPS Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said. “These projects represent our continued commitment to providing modern, safe, and well-maintained learning environments for our students and staff. From upgraded classrooms and student spaces to important infrastructure and security improvements, this work will help ensure our buildings continue to support teaching and learning for years to come while keeping our students warm, safe, and dry. We are incredibly grateful to our community for its continued support of these important investments in our schools.”

Young & Wright Architect Richard Krouse, who is also the project manager, said the project also includes work to be done at Lincoln Elementary School, Washington and Jefferson middle schools as well as the JPS Allen Street bus garage. Construction at Jefferson and Washington middle schools is expected to take place in 2027.

At Persell, Krouse said, improvements will include a new roof; upgraded building-mounted and site lighting; renovated bathrooms; updated mechanical and plumbing systems; additional window security measures; and extensive parking lot improvements.

At Lincoln , exterior ramps and stairs will be repaired, while new flooring, exterior lighting, and windows will be installed. Additional roof repairs and window security improvements are also planned beyond the summer months.

Krouse noted, the Allen Street bus garage will receive new bus lifts, repairs to parking lots, upgrades to the oil separator system, improved exterior lighting, and replacement of overhead and man doors.

Future work at Jefferson includes the addition of a new drop-off loop with ADA-accessible parking at the southern end of the Martin Road Athletic Complex, resurfacing of the Strider Field track, and parking lot repairs.

At Washington, parking lots and entry drives will be repaired, while the tennis courts will be resurfaced and adapted to allow for pickleball use, Krouse said.

Recently, JPS unveiled the newly-renovated cafeteria at Jamestown High School. The new cafeteria was part of the district’s 2021 capital project. With the cafeteria renovation comes a new four-station kitchen. The first station will serve pizza; the station will serve deli items; the third station will serve the main entree; and the fourth station will be a salad bar.

One change from the former cafeteria is the new entrance. Students now can enter the cafeteria from the stairs located across the hall from the attendance offices. Before, students could only access the cafeteria from the basement entrances.

As part of the 2021 project, at JHS, the old gymnasium and kitchen are expected to be completed by the start of the school year, while renovations to the auditorium are expected to be finished by the end of the calendar year.

“We are also incredibly grateful to our partners at Young & Wright Architectural and Turner Construction, as well as our staff, students, and families, for their continued collaboration, flexibility, and support throughout these projects,” Whitaker added.