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New Hoosac High School About 60 Percent CompleteBy Andy McKeever
iBerkshires Staff
09:31PM / Monday, February 13, 2012
ADAMS, Mass. — The new Hoosac Valley High School is about 60 percent complete.
Tradesmen have been following each other through six sections of the school, two of those sections are in the final stages, according to Superintendent Alfred Skrocki.
"In these sections that we started first, there is painting going on, ceilings are going up, tiles are going up," Skrocki told the School Committee on Monday night. "Things continue to move along."
The biggest milestone will be the completion of seismic footings, which were only recently added to state building codes, because that will eliminate any major or unexpected cost increases, Skrocki said. There is only one footing left to be installed. Once that factor is eliminated, the school can start to process of being released from the school's responsibility to set aside $400,000 to pay for unexpected construction costs.
The school is still holding back on the outside work until the spring, which includes sidewalks, driveways and the playing fields, and the School Committee approved an agreement to allow National Grid onto the property to replace some utility poles.
Many people do not realize how much renovation is going into the building, Skrocki said, and estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the work will not be visible upon walking into the completed project. Much of the work is going on in the ceilings and walls, he said.
Committee member Edmund St. John IV said he recently toured the building and was amazed with the project.
"The progress there has been unbelievable," St. John said.
iBerkshires will be touring the building on Wednesday and will be adding photos to our collection from two previous tours. Check back to see the progress then.
In other news, the School Committee agreed to meet with the teachers' union to discuss new social media policies. The committee approved the new regulation last month but it was never negotiated with the union.
Union President Elizabeth Alibozek and state Teachers Association consultant Cindy Polinsky asked the board Monday to freeze the grievance timeline so they can discuss the policy without having to go to court, which the committee agreed.
"This is both an issue of process and content," Polinsky said. "We would like to avoid litigation."
Skrocki said the policy was never negotiated with the union because he felt it did not change the working conditions. The policy was based on recommendations from the state Association of School Superintendents and is more informative than strict policy, Skrocki said. It includes items such as making sure accounts are private, he said.
However, Polinsky said there is specific language in the policy that says discipline issues would involve the collective bargaining agreement.
The School Committee agreed to set up a meeting with the union to go over the policy and the grievance period was suspended. Since the policy was already approved, it stays in place. However, union representatives told the members not to sign it. The School Committee would have to approve any changes that come as a result of the future discussion.
School officials did not have a copy of the policy readily available on Monday but iBerkshires will attempt to get a copy on Tuesday for more details.
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