Administrators vowed Tuesday that Highland High School will open on time, albeit 14 classrooms won't have windows until the second week of school.
The seismic retrofit of the school is expected to be completed in January, school officials said. Meantime, classes will be conducted in nearly completed sections of the classroom wing and in portable classrooms."We will make it. There's 250 people working at Highland. They're all over the place on top of one another. The cleaning crew is there 24 hours a day," building and grounds director Steve Harman told the Salt Lake City Board of Education.
Windows will be installed on the first and second levels of the class-room wing by Tuesday and on the third level by Sept. 3. Security will be provided on the third story until the windows are installed. "Those will be covered with Visquine (reinforced plastic sheeting) so they won't be completely open to the elements," Harman said.
Construction crews have been working double shifts and weekends since July to complete as much of the classroom wing as possible. School maintenance workers have joined forces with construction workers, which has helped emphasize the urgent nature of the work, said Harman.
"They told them, `We don't miss school openings,' " Harman said.
Board member Cliff Higbee said he was guardedly optimistic about the planned opening. "I saw it Sunday evening. I don't know how it's going to happen," he said.
Superintendent Darline Robles said she will tour Highland and West high schools on Friday to ensure the facilities will be ready for students.
West High has been moved into the former community high school building across the street from the school campus while West High undergoes its seismic upgrade.
In a letter to parents, Robles said the retrofit should be completed by January, with construction work being performed in the evenings and on weekends. Landscaping will start in the spring.
"The scope of the project left the district with two options: complete the project over the summer and a few months in the school year; or complete the project over two to five years, working on one section at a time. I believe the decision to complete the project in six months was the right decision," Robles wrote.
When students return next Tuesday, they'll be greeted by interim principal Don Barlow. Barlow, formerly an assistant principal at Highland, succeeds Charles Shackett. Earlier this summer Shackett resigned to accept a superintendent's position in Idaho.
The district advertised to replace Shackett, but the "selection committee did not feel enough qualified candidates applied for the position to begin the interview process," Robles wrote.