Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Opening of new school delayed
East Coventry Elementary won’t be ready until October
The new East Coventry Elementary School won’t be ready for students as school starts next week.
SOUTH COVENTRY » The new East Coventry Elementary School will not be ready for students when school begins next week.
The Owen J. Roberts School Board voted Monday to follow an administrative recommendation to have students start school in the old East Coventry Elementary building, which is located on the same lot as the new facility. Students will move into the new facility on Oct. 9, following an Oct. 8 in-service day.
Staff will use the in-service day to move into the classrooms, Superintendent Susan Lloyd said.
The board had hoped that the building would be completed by the end of July, ensuring that it would be ready for students when school opens on Aug. 27. Although that deadline passed, the board and administration had still sought to have the new building ready for the start of school.
Lloyd said that in order to open school the district needed to have three things in place. The first was a certificate of occupancy from the township. The second was to achieve substantial completion of construction by the contractors. And the third was to complete internal tasks “that are necessary for staff and students to move in and utilize the building,” Lloyd said.
The district did receive a partial temporary occupancy permit from the township on Monday, but Lloyd noted that it had limitations. What’s more, she said SMJ Contracting Inc., the general contractor, had a “rather lengthy list” of items that still needed to be completed.
The gym floor remains unfinished, as do the library and media classrooms, and the fiber and power for the technology. In addition, safety and security measures are also not in place, including fire and burglar alarms, fencing around basins and key swipes.
All those issues must be resolved before students can move into the building, Lloyd said.
School board President Melissa Booth expressed disappointment that the school would not open on time but noted that it would still be open within the school year.
“This has been a day-byday hope that it will be open on time. It’s not. But it will still be open in 2018 and that’s our goal,” Booth said.
East Coventry Elementary School Principal Todd Oswald assured the board that the delayed opening of the new building would not impact the overall readiness for the start of school.
“It is unfortunate that we are not going to be opening in the new building,” Oswald said. “But rest assured, we are ready to open in the new building. We could open tomorrow if we had to.”
When the new facility is ready in October, Oswald stressed that everything would be done to help children and families with the transition, including inviting families to tour the building. Teachers will be given the opportunity to bring their students to their new classrooms to help set up, Lloyd said.
“It really is an opportunity for us to build community within our classrooms,” Oswald said.
To ensure that the project continues to move toward completion and the building is ready by October 9, the board also agreed to extend the contract for the construction management firm, Fidevia Construction Management and Consulting, of Lititz. That contract was due to expire on Aug. 31.
The board voted for a contract extension that will pay Fidevia $85 to $95 per hour for a maximum of eight hours a day through Oct. 9.
District Chief Financial Officer Jaclin Krumrine said the construction managers may not need to be on-site for eight hours a day. The maximum cost to the district would be $19,000, she said.
That cost would not significantly impact the $28 million project, which has remained under budget, Krumrine said.