Crews have begun construction on a new maintenance building for the Iola USD 257 school district, a project expected to improve efficiency and equipment care for the district. The building is being constructed on a lot situated between a parking area and the tennis courts near Iola High School.
The project was approved in November 2024, when USD 257 school board members authorized Director of Operations Aaron Cole to seek bids for an 80-foot by 50-foot structure, with a budget cap of $300,000.
The new building will replace the district’s former maintenance facility, which was demolished in 2020 at the corner of North Cottonwood and East Jackson streets. That demolition made way for a new science and technology building, part of a bond issue that also included the construction of the new Iola Elementary School and upgraded mechanicals at Iola Middle School.
Since the old maintenance building was removed, the district’s maintenance and transportation department has operated out of a smaller facility located a block north on Cottonwood Street. Much of the department’s equipment — including mowers, a tractor, and utility vehicles — has been stored outdoors at the bus barn facility south of town, at the former Lehigh Portland Cement Co. site. Employees have had to travel back and forth when equipment is needed.
The new maintenance building will allow equipment to be stored indoors during the winter, Cole said.
