Pennsylvania district delays classes for a week as it races to finish construction
Upgrades at Allard and Brooks elementary schools haven't been completed, so the Moon Area (Pa.) board has decided that the 2015-16 year will begin on Aug. 24 instead of Aug. 17.
Incomplete renovations at Allard Elementary School in the Moon Area Pa district led the school board to delay the 201516 school year by one week
Incomplete renovations at Allard Elementary School in the Moon Area (Pa.) district led the school board to delay the 2015-16 school year by one week.
Across the nation, construction workers on countless school campuses are racing to finish renovations, repairs and retrofits before the clock runs out on summer recess and students return for the 2015-16 academic year.
And sometimes school administrators have to concede that, as summer breaks become shorter, there's not enough time to get projects completed.
That's the story in the Moon Area (Pa.) district, where the school board has decided that classes will resume a week later than planned--Aug. 24 instead of Aug. 17--because renovations at two campuses in Moon Township are taking longer than anticipated.
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Brooks Elementary School, Moon Township, Pa.
Allard Elementary, which will serve grades three and four, and Brooks Elementary, which will serve kindergarten through second grade, are undergoing renovations as district goes from five to four elementary schools and alters grade configurations in its buildings.
With the start of classes a week away and work still not complete at the two schools, a slim majority of the school board decided to err on the side of caution and delay the opening of school by a week.
The Beaver County Times reports that Moon Area School Board voted 5-4 to delay the start of classes. One board member who favored the delay said he "was surprised by the level of incompletion" at the schools.
Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.
