School City of East Chicago leaders are promising that classrooms will be ready by the start of school next week, but teachers worry they won't have much time to move in.
Teachers union vice president Barbara Berrones told the school board Tuesday that teachers are excited to welcome students back to class, but they're also concerned about ongoing heating and cooling work. "A lot of the buildings have HVAC [work] still," Berrones noted. "They're still not complete, and so a lot of us are kind of feeling anxious."
Paul McGrath, the consultant overseeing the HVAC work, said contractors are pushing to have the classrooms ready for teachers by Monday. "What we're asking for is some patience and some understanding," McGrath told teachers. "You're going to have all your classrooms. You're going to have access to 95 percent of your schools, your buildings, but there's still going to be some dust and there's still going to be some work being done."
He said they're at the mercy of the delivery schedule. While summer vacations have gotten shorter, the industry's work schedule hasn't adjusted. "If a product doesn't show up, it starts a ripple effect," McGrath noted.
School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Bournés said he's working closely with principals and contractors to allow teachers to move in as soon as possible. "They will be able to go in as early [in] the weekend as it permits, when our contractors and our own custodial staff are finished with buildings," Bournés explained. "We will not have to relocate any classrooms."
Bournés says teachers will also have time set aside on Monday and Wednesday to prepare their classrooms.
He expects more than 3,000 students on the first day of class, Thursday, August 8.
