Homer Central School Students will return to school Wednesday, but renovations to three elementary school classrooms will not be complete.
“The scope of work was much greater than (crews) had anticipated,” Superintendent Thomas Turck told school board members Tuesday. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to have these rooms available for the start of the school year.”
He said the district is fortunate to have classroom space to accommodate the affected students and their teachers. That means there won’t need to be classes doubled up in existing classroom spaces.
Teachers who will have to use different rooms have been notified, and have been given time to set up in their temporary classrooms.
Work on two elementary-school washrooms, and two at Homer High School – all part of the district’s capital project – also is not complete, Turck said, but affected buildings have adequate bathroom space.
“A lot of work was done this summer,” he added. “And a lot will be done (this year).”
Homer Central School District residents voted in a referendum in December 2021 to approve the $24 million project, which would be funded by state aid, a capital reserve fund and by the savings from other debt management.
The project is mostly safety and security improvements and the replacement of aging infrastructure. Plans include window replacements, modernizing and upgrading boiler systems, bathroom renovations, roof replacements, parking lot repairs, fire alarm system upgrades and improvements for accessibility for people with disabilities.
The high school and intermediate/junior high school bus and parent drop off loops also will be redesigned.
One of the most noticeable elements – the paving and striping of the parking lot at the high school – has been finished, as has building of a structure overhanging picnic tables at the edge of the lot.
A significant element remains: The press box planned for the football field at the high school remains to be installed during the fall semester.
