A project to build modular classrooms at Antietam School District’s former middle senior high school is progressing on schedule, according to district officials.
The district has been searching for ways to keep its 1,162 students learning in-person after a flood a year ago ravaged the middle senior high school, leaving it unusable.
One of those solutions involves using temporary classrooms to house the district’s youngest students while the damaged school is partially demolished and transformed into a new elementary center.
In March, the school board approved a plan to install the modular classrooms to house kindergarten through third grade on the grounds of the former school at 100 Antietam Road in Lower Alsace Township.
The board approved a lease for the structures with BOXX Modular, with a term of no more than three years at a cost not to exceed $2.75 million.
The lease is set to expire when construction of the elementary school is completed.
That plan came about after negotiations fell through on the district’s earlier proposal to buy or lease a BCIU early learning center at 705 Friedensburg Road.
Progress on the plans is on schedule, and the buildings are slated to be occupied by the start of the 2024-25 school year, said Dr. Brett Cooper, interim superintendent.
Despite complications stemming from a partial floor collapse that delayed some construction at the Mount Penn Primary Center, where grades nine through 12 will attend, Cooper noted the plans to have grades kindergarten through third attend school at the modular classrooms have remained the same.
Some structures have been assembled completely at this point, and all buildings were scheduled to be delivered to the site earlier this week, said Ken Bonkoski, supervisor of facilities and maintenance.
The new buildings are being placed outside of the flood plain, officials said, with two eight-classroom buildings on the tennis courts at Vesper Avenue and Antietam Road.
“I have a feeling the tennis court (structures) are going to be done rather quickly,” Bonkoski said at a meeting in June.
A six-classroom structure and a cafeteria, auditorium and office space will go near the tennis courts.
The modular buildings are fully equipped as modern classrooms and include the same WiFi and technology access as other buildings in the district, officials said.
The structures will be fenced in and outfitted with ramps, exterior lighting and covered walkways between the buildings.
Bonkoski noted contractors had faced some complications with digging to install support structures for the buildings due to rocks in the ground.
Bonkoski said he is assisting contractors with the digging to ensure the plans stay on schedule.
Antietam’s first day of school is slated for Aug. 26.