Chaffee School District wrapping up summer renovations, safety the top priority

CHAFFEE, Mo. (KBSI) – Several renovations to Chaffee School District buildings have been completed or are wrapping up.

This includes the new office at Chaffee Elementary School, which is closer to the front of the building than the old one.

District Superintendent Shawn Nix said this new location provides: “Easy access for parents, if they have anything that needs to be done at the building or those things, they don’t have to walk through the building. It’s easy for them to come in one door, and they’re right there.” 

New doors at this entryway are also a highlight of this summer’s renovations. 

“By moving offices and putting in new secure doors, we’re going to be able to limit access — not limit access as to people coming in, but limiting access to where they can go in the building,” 

Part of those secure doors is the new key fob system, which will only provide access to certain areas of the building to those who need it. 

Both Nix and Elementary School Principal Jennifer Vandeven have children who attend school in the district, so their excitement level for these changes stems from more than solely an administrative perspective. 

“What I have always followed, what my mantra has always been, is if it’s not good enough for my kids, it’s not good enough for anybody else’s kid, either,” Vandeven said. “If I wouldn’t put my own children there, I’m not going to put someone else’s children there.” 

“Not just as a teacher or an administrator, but also as a parent and a community member, that’s why I feel like this is so important for us,” Nix said.

Nix also said they are putting in new wood floors in the district’s activity centers, which also serve as cafeterias. While these projects may eat into the school year a bit, everything else should be ready to go by the first day of school on August 22.