This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

High School Renovation May Be Done Earlier Than Expected

Architects update the School Building Committee on high school renovations and new wing for Hanover Elementary at Thursday's meeting.

At Thursday evening’s School Building Committee meeting, the Maloney renovation team, led by the architectural firm Fletcher Thompson, reported that they have shaved about six or seven months off the schedule, bringing the occupancy date of the renovated high school to September of 2016.

School Building Committee member John Lineen asked if this will reduce the cost of the renovation. A spokesman for the Maloney team replied, “Any time you shorten a job, it will be reflected in the bids.”

In addition, committee member Brian Cyr, Director of Instrumental Music at Maloney High School, expressed concern about the height of the fly systems in the auditoriums of both schools. Right now, the schools have what Cyr called a “half-fly” system. The ceilings aren’t high enough to hoist props or curtains up to the ceiling. Instead, they must be pushed to the side, which causes more wear and damage to the curtain system. It also prevents students from being able to put on state-of-the-art modern productions, Cyr said.

Find out what's happening in Meridenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’m making the recommendation that we consider a full-fly system at both schools,” Cyr told the committee.

The other big school building project, an edition to Hanover Elementary School to house a new all-day kindergarten program, is finally moving forward after months of delays. The architect reported that construction bid requests have gone out. Bids are due in early November. The project should be completed by January of 2013.

Find out what's happening in Meridenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

School officials have said that the all-day kindergarten program will begin next September as originally planned. Students will be housed in a temporary location until the new wing is finished.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?