Laurel Highlands prepares for first day of classes
The renovation project at Laurel Highlands High School isn’t quite finished, but classes there and at other district schools will begin on Monday, district officials said Thursday.
Superintendent Jesse Wallace said the administration and board are “not totally happy” with the progress contractors have been made on the high school gym, locker rooms and swimming pool, but the work should be completed by early to mid-September.
A grand opening will be held after the project is completed, Wallace said.
All classrooms will be open and freshmen orientation will be held Monday morning, he said.
Security measures will be in place at all the schools, said district police Chief Richard Barron.
High school and middle school students will have to walk through metal detectors when they enter their schools, Barron said.
Visitors to the high school will be asked to show their drivers’ licenses, which will be scanned in a card reader, and will be given a pass to enter the building, he said.
Everyone who enters the elementary schools will be checked with a metal-detection wand and security guards will be working at all the schools, Barron said.
Student transportation will be provided, but Director Bill Elias said the time some students spend on buses is out of proportion with the distance they travel. He said some students have bus rides of 30-40 minutes.
Wallace said he met with the transportation contractor, First Student, to try to resolve some issues.
Some of the scheduling problems began several years ago when the class days at the high school and middle school were extended by 15 minutes, he said.
Last year, buses arrived early at some schools and arrived late at others, he said.
“This has to be corrected. I’m totally dissatisfied with the way it’s been going,” Elias said.
Wallace said the Route 21 widening project, which also begins on Monday, could delay buses.
There also will be some changes in personnel when students report for classes.
Eric Gaydos, a teacher at Hutchinson Elementary School, was hired as the federal programs coordinator/assistant curriculum director in a 6-3 vote. Directors Ira Chrise, Jamie Miller D’Andrea and Tom Landman voted against the hiring.
The board accepted the resignations of high school technology teacher Larry Frank, Hutchinson Elementary School elementary life skills aide Terrie Manges and middle school learning support teacher Adrienne Goodwin. Manges’ position was abolished.
In addition, the board awarded contracts to teachers Daniel McGarvey, Jennifer Smith-Shuba, Marilyn Rathway, Marissa Chambers and Nicole Bryson, who earned tenure.
The resignation of Dr. Nick DiLeo, the physician who covered home football games, was accepted, and the board named Dr. Gil Perez as his replacement.
In other business, the board retained Eckles Engineering to design an auxiliary gym at the high school for $65,000.
Director Lyn Andalora said the district can’t afford building the auxiliary gym now, but the design will be in place when the district finds the money for the project.
The board also voted to name the baseball field in honor of Landman, who was the baseball coach and a teacher for 37 years.