Summer's over; construction close
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Roofers work on the roof at Rutland Town School on Thursday, part of new construction projects in area schools. Cassandra Hotaling / Rutland Herald |
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka STAFF WRITER - Published: August 24, 2009
Poultney High got science labs, Otter Valley got a new entranceway and Rutland public schools got better heating.
New school construction projects in area schools advanced as temperatures rose, and now, this week students and teachers can bask in their new and improved academic homes.
A drive down Route 7 past Otter Valley High School this summer revealed the final pieces of a two-phase, $2 million capital plan — a completely new drop-off and pick-up pattern, a renovated front entrance and wastewater treatment improvements at the school.
On Wednesday, cars will pull into school at a different entrance than buses, significantly reducing the congested traffic flow that plagued the school for years, according to Principal Dana Cole-Levesque.
"Parents had to wait half an hour or more waiting for buses to drop their kids off," he said.
"Buses won't drop kids off in the front of the building anymore."
In Rutland, a $1.5 million, 15-year energy savings contract with Johnson Controls was in full swing this summer, with all district schools getting a slice of the weatherization pie — new windows are in the process of being installed at primary and the intermediate schools and new, more efficient lighting is being implemented districtwide with the help of Efficiency Vermont, according to Rutland Superintendent Mary Moran.
Students at SUCCESS will see fresh ceiling tiles, an oil tank is being removed and new paving laid at the intermediate school while at Stafford Technical Center, outbuildings that house programs are being renovated.
"A lot of it is more visible work than was done before," Moran said.
"We'll have better heat when the winter starts."
At Mill River Union High School, administrators decided to stick with programming improvements instead of structural ones.
An alternative special education program called The Holden House will make its debut this year across the road from the school in a "real world" setting, much like Rutland's Stratton Road house.
"In addition, it will allow the district to consider bringing back to the school community those students who are being schooled out of district due to their unique learning needs," Superintendent Walter Goetz wrote in an e-mail last week.
"While benefiting students, this can be a cost saver to the taxpayers as well."
In other areas of the district, Shrewsbury Elementary School installed a new kitchen for its food service program and Wallingford Elementary has a new sidewalk greeting students in front of school.
In Rutland Town, the school is replacing its expansive roof measuring 81,200 square feet.
Black River Union High School in Ludlow renovated all science labs and bathrooms and at the middle school, lockers. There's a new air-tight entryway at Ludlow Elementary and a new basketball court in Mount Holly, according to Superintendent Judith Pullinen.
And to keep their students safer on their way to school, Fair Haven Grade School has installed speed bumps outside the school to slow traffic with a Safe Routes to Schools grant, according to school representative Cecelia Hunt.
In Poultney, high school science students will all get an extra special surprise, according to Principal JeanMarie Oakman.
"The PHS science lab project is nearing completion," Oakman said.
"We have three new state-of-the-art science labs that are truly amazing, each complete with a Smartboard and laptops for every science student!"
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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