Louisa school repairs under way
Posted on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Year-round school advocates say that the summer break is a time of losing momentum for developing young minds.
But with an aggressive post-quake rebuilding and repair schedule, Louisa County school officials believe the division will be on more solid footing once classes resume in August.
At Trevilians and Jouett elementary schools, First Class Contracting is adding reenforcement to the gym walls. Both were damaged in the August 23 earthquake, and were initially placed under an evacuation order effective during high-wind events. Regular evaluations of the Trevilians gym uncovered additional post-quake damage to the gym, which forced its closure during the school year.
According to David “Sal” Szalankiewicz, director of facilities, the contractor has prioritized the completion of the simultaneous projects.
“By the time the kids come back, they should be able to use the gyms,” he said, adding that will be important at TES, which also serves as the temporary home of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.
The demolition process of the historic TJES school complex on Rt. 33 is complete, and the school’s trailer accomodations at TES are receiving an upgrade this summer. At the TJES site, known to many as “mobile mountain,” Szalankiewicz said that a block of new trailers, called an eight-plex, has been installed.
The space will be used to bring the kindergarten classes from the TES building and alongside the rest of the school, he said, adding that the eight-plex features bathrooms and running water. The TJES nurse’s station will also be relocated to the additional trailers.
“The teams we’ve got working out here seem to be keeping the kids and the schools in mind,” Szalankiewicz said.
In addition to some cosmetic crack repairs at the central office and middle school, the athletic complex behing Louisa County Middle School will also get an upgrade.
Szalankiewicz said that another pending project will expand the middle school parking lot on the field currently used for parking. The roadway leading to the fields will also be paved.
The backstop of the field space to be used will be moved to a corner of the soccer/football multi-use field, preserving the number of fields at the complex, while three tennis courts will be added to replace those lost to the high school’s post-quake pod school, located in the former school’s parking lot.
Federal grants are expected to help fund the middle school parking lot expansion project, Szalankiewicz said.
At Moss-Nuckols Elementary School, cosmetic cracks will be repaired during the summer, and a new well will soon be drilled on the site.
School officials said that the quake damaged one of the schools two wells, which will be replaced this summer.
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