Project rushed to beat weather
Construction at the high school and middle school is to begin in May.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
ESPITE INCLEMENT WEATHER THAT has made conditions miserable and muddy around construction sites, crews are making progress on a $6 million project at East Palestine Elementary.
Superintendent Jeff Richardson said workers are trying to get the work under roof before harsh winter weather sets in.
Art and music rooms, a library and a cafeteria and kitchen are to be completed sometime in February. That work, and a two-story addition that will house kindergarten and first-grade pupils, is to be completed in September.
Construction at the elementary school began in June 2000.
Richardson said of the district's 1,492 pupils this year, 103 are kindergarteners and 113 are first-graders. There are five first-grade classes and six half-day sessions of kindergarten, he said.
Description of facilities
The new wing will have six kindergarten classrooms on the first floor and six first-grade classrooms on the second floor, he said.
Sprinkler system upgrades and installation of a central air conditioning system will be done in the summer, he said.
Work is also under way on a new area in front of the kindergarten wing that will house the district offices.
Voters approved a tax levy in November 1999 that will generate $1.3 million through the sale of bonds. The Ohio School Facilities Commission will pay about $13.7 million from its state building assistance fund.
The project also includes a second phase, about $9 million in improvements at the high school and middle school.
Richardson said state officials are reviewing those plans, but school officials hope to accept bids in January, with construction to start in May.
Middle school and high school plans include construction of new science labs, a library and additional classrooms, and renovation to move the middle school and high school offices closer to the respective main entrances. The office moves are to improve building security, he said.