Construction delays classes

MOSCOW (AP) - Students in a northern Idaho school district will get two more weeks of summer vacation after construction delays led the school board to postpone the start of the school year.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports that at least one bathroom in each school in the Moscow School District is still under construction. The work on the bathrooms is part of a larger district-wide renovation project that includes new science classrooms, new roofing and new windows, Superintendent Greg Bailey said Tuesday.

The school year was supposed to begin Aug. 26, but has been pushed back until Sept. 8. Students will make up the lost days during shortened vacation breaks and by attending classes a few days longer next summer.

The construction projects were paid for through a bond passed a few years ago, Bailey said, and the work started earlier this year, with the goal of having the work finished by Aug. 22.

"It's construction on very old buildings, so you do have unexpected surprises," Bailey said. "And we felt that maybe there weren't enough employees on the site that we would have liked to have had working over the summer."

On Monday, the Moscow school board voted to make up for the missed school days by conducting classes over the first three days of what was formerly Thanksgiving vacation week. The new schedule will also include instruction on May 22, a snow day make-up day; extending the school year through June 5; and two additional make-up days at the superintendent's discretion.

More than 100 residents, parents and staff attended the Monday meeting. Many complained about the delay, noting the impact it would have on additional child care expenses, expressing concern over the proposed make-up days and special education issues.

Bailey said the school will work with families who have previously made vacation plans affected by the changes.

Bailey said a completion date of Aug. 22 was written into the agreement with the contractors, but what penalties will come of the failure to finish by that time will not be discussed until the job is completed.

"We'll worry about that when the job's done," Bailey said. "Right now we just want to get school opened and our kids safe."