Sartell Starts School After Labor Day While Crews Overhaul HVAC at Riverview

SARTELL (WJON News) -- A major update project continues to move forward at an area school. The installation of the new Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system (HVAC) is in year one of a two-year process at Riverview Intermediate School for the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

The original HVAC system has been in use since 1969.

Superintendent Michael Rivard says they meet with the contractors every Tuesday to get an update:

"What I'm seeing is we're kind of finishing up most, if not all, of any demolition concerns, and we've already started moving all the HVAC ductwork, and those things have already started to be put into place, so we're really excited about the work as it's getting done."

Currently, the north side of Riverview and the gymnasium are being worked on.

Voters approved the new almost $22-million HVAC in February of 2025.

Next summer, the south side will get the update.

"So next year we expect there'll be, I don't want to say less work because that's probably not fair, but there'll be less square footage to be working on versus this year, our heavier lift."

Sartell-St. Stephen Schools will take advantage of the late Labor Day and start school on September 8th. Rivard says the late start impacts all of their schools, but it allows the crews working on the HVAC system at Riverview more time to finish up.