More upgrades await returning high schoolers
When Kingston High School students return this fall, they likely will find classes spread out throughout the entire expanded campus.
Kingston school district Buildings and Grounds Director Thomas Clapper says the only things left to be done are making some electrical connections, putting desks and computers into classrooms, and waxing the floors.
“There’s several tractortrailer loads of furniture coming in, and we expect to have all our classrooms populated with furniture and ready to go in about a week and a half,” Clapper said at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
“[There are] six new classrooms, all the administrative offices, the security office, the library, and space called the ‘commons,’ which is an informational area with all TV screens and is actually the formal entrance to the high school at the south end,” Clapper said. “The new media center of the library is important because we have breakout rooms ... for small[group] collaboration. Half of the second floor is designed for collaborative work, with different teachers and different classes.”
The $137.5 million renovation and expansion of the high school’s Broadway campus was approved by voters in 2013 and so far has included the addition of two classroom wings at the rear of the Salzmann Building, the demolition of the Myron J. Michael Building and upgrades to the Kate Walton Fieldhouse.
Still to be done are renovations to the campus’s main building and the demolition of the Whiston-Tobin Building.
The remaining work still is awaiting the go-ahead and the release of financial aid from the state Education Department.
“Right now it’s at [the Education Department] for review,” Clapper said. “We’re not sure of the reimbursement and when it’s coming, so we don’t have a start date . ... If we get early funding, [the work will start] next year. And if the funding doesn’t come, it will be 2020-21.”
Clapper said work in the main building could be more difficult than erecting up the new classroom wings.
“Renovations always [have] some surprises,” he said. “But we did our due diligence, and we’re very confident in our plans and that we know what’s there.”