As the 2023-24 school year approaches, the Walton Central School District wants to give an update about the status of the capital project at Townsend Elementary School.
Construction is on schedule, and will not impact the start of the 2023-24 school year. School will start on time at Townsend, and all needed spaces will be available for use.
"We are pleased with the project’s progress, and the speed in which it is being completed," Walton CSD Superintendent Dr. Michael MacDonald said. "Students and staff will be filling Townsend Elementary at the start of the school year and we look forward to seeing everybody in school and on time."
This is the first phase of the project.
It included the following: demolition of ceilings, classrooms, and corridor walls on the second floor in the fifth-grade wing to allow removal and asbestos abatement of the original lightweight concrete floor deck system; the removal and replacement of ceilings in the kitchen, cafeteria, two first-floor classrooms, and first-floor corridor, allowing the removal of the second-floor deck, as well as installation of structural steel reinforcement; installation of metal floor deck and pouring of new lightweight concrete floor deck system; reconstruction and installation of new finishes within the second-floor fifth-grade wing classrooms and corridor; and installation of new unit ventilators within the fifth-grade classrooms.
As of August 10, all required demolition of existing finishes and systems, as well as installations of structural steel, metal floor deck, and lightweight concrete have been completed. In the coming weeks, the reconstruction of the first-floor ceilings, reinstallation of kitchen equipment, the return of furniture, and final cleaning will be finished.
Any construction in the first-floor areas will be completed and will be ready for use before the start of the 2023-24 school year on September 7.
Construction of the new classrooms and corridor walls, and installation of new HVAC equipment, and finishes on the second floor will begin after the start of the year. The fifth-grade wing on the second floor, as well as the corridor, will remain unoccupied during the first half of the 2023-24 school year. This part of the project is scheduled to be completed in November.