School Renovations Ongoing

With the school year ending, work on renovations at three Salem elementary schools is starting to ramp up.

SAU 57 Superintendent Michael Delahanty gave the School Board an update on the work at Barron, Lancaster and North Salem elementary schools at its Tuesday night meeting.

"Right now the sites are moving along very quickly, and in another week they'll be moving along even more quickly," he said.

At Barron, a gymnasium sprinkler system is being installed, while lighting, roofing, staircases, bathrooms and duct work are being worked on, Delahanty said.

Delahanty said Lancaster is getting a new entrance to its gymnasium, as well as extensive new duct work and and lighting fixture replacements.

A transformer was installed at North Salem on Tuesday, Delahanty said. There is also sanding and painting in the new portion of the school going on this week.

The school renovations were approved by voters in March 2010, with a price tag of $22 million. Delahanty said qualified school construction bonds were acquired for the projects and around $14.5 million is covered by zero percent interest bonds.

"It did require us to pay a prevailing wage and that increased our construction costs by $1 million," he said.

Delahanty said "substantial completion" of the renovation projects is scheduled for Aug. 15, with the first day of school in the buildings Aug. 31.

The construction is part of a master plan that would, if approved by the voters, see the Fisk, Haigh and Soule elementary schools also renovated in another year, with Salem High School then renovated two years after that, Delahanty said.