The first day of class for Española Valley High School ninth- and 10th-graders did not go smoothly Tuesday.
Renovations on four portable buildings that house a classroom each — a total of eight, comprising the school’s entire social studies department — are far from ready, Principal Bruce Hopmeier said. So are renovations on a storage room that’s being revamped into a special education classroom.
To top it all off, a gas line broke.
“Everything that could go wrong, did,” Hopmeier said. “We were supposed to come in, turn the key, and everything was ready.”
The high school received ninth- and 10th- graders for orientation and a first day of class Tuesday, then did the same Wednesday (8/13) with grades 11 and 12, Hopmeier said. All four grades will resume classes together Thursday (8/14).
Contractor Western Structural moved the four used portable buildings — which the District obtained for free and in need of repair from other school districts — and set them on a foundation of concrete pillars in May. Renovations were supposed to start soon afterward and be completed by the first day of school.
The state Construction Industries Division soon red-tagged, or temporarily condemned, the buildings because the concrete pillars were spaced too far apart. Western Structural agreed to repair the foundations, within weeks and at its own cost. Instead, the foundations were replaced in late July, halting renovations on at least two portables until a few weeks before the start of the school year, according to Projects Manager Paul Salas.
Hopmeier said two of the portables, four classrooms altogether, still need three or four weeks of renovation work. Teachers were able to occupy the other four classrooms, but only because they were hooked up to portable electric generators. All four portables still lack electric, phone or Internet lines, Hopmeier said. Three of the five displaced teachers are being housed temporarily in three classrooms currently vacant and also in need of renovations. The rest will rove between classrooms that are unused part of the day.