Teachers and staff are putting in some long hours at Clearview Elementary School this week as they prepare for the opening day of school next Monday, Aug. 31.
A failed state inspection resulted in a list of corrections which caused the contractors to work late into Friday night and through Saturday to bring the building up to standards. Passing a re-inspection on Tuesday allowed school staff to enter the structure to begin putting classrooms and offices in order.
The school has undergone extensive renovations over the summer, including six new classrooms, modifications and reconfiguration of several others, expansion of the cafeteria space and the construction of a new gymnasium. All of the materials inside the school had to be removed prior to the start of the construction immediately after the school year ended in the spring, and all of those items, from desks to storage lockers to classroom equipment, will have to be placed in the classrooms in time for opening day. Once the classrooms were clear of all furniture and materials, new flooring, walls and ceilings were put in place, as well as a new air filtration and air conditioning system which were scheduled to come on-line on Wednesday, according to Principal Sheri Rutar.
With the need for further inspections, the Open House at Clearview scheduled for Tuesday evening was cancelled, and will not be immediately rescheduled, Rutar said.
Instead, the school will be hosting a “Welcome Back” evening in September, but a date has not been set for that event.
Fall enrollment at Clearview is currently 558 students, Rutar said, with the pre-school boosting the numbers to nearly 600 students each day. There will also be 10 new and transferring teachers in the building when school starts next week, she said.
Drop-off and pick-up zones behind the building will remain the same this year, she said, and parents are reminded that they will have to park in the lots when dropping off children if they are coming inside, rather than in the bus spaces at the front of the building.
