January 26, 2021

Good afternoon,

I wanted to provide a quick update on where we are with the Construction/reconstruction project at the JR/SR High School-

We are very pleased with the progress of the work. Things are moving along very nicely at this point and we are very hopeful that we will be able to bring back cohorts of students much sooner than we had initially anticipated.

In the Jr. High wing - The spaces are completed with the exception of a couple of window sills and window treatments. We still need to finish the hallways and load furniture back into the classrooms. Abatement has occurred, walls replaced, new windows installed along with new flooring and heating systems in each space. The Library has been refinished and ready to begin being loaded. We have hope that we will have the Jr. High Wing available for students by, or in the Month of March.

The Cafeteria has been completed with the new windows, and univents installed. The entire space has been repainted and has only some finish work left to be done.

The gymnasium is stripped and the bleachers have been removed. The (Contractor to install the new floors) believes that he may have all of the materials in the building by the end of February to begin acclimating to the building humidity at which point the new gymnasium flooring can be installed. The locker rooms are nearly stripped and being abated for mold, and Asbestos fittings. Still much work to be done in those spaces, but moving along nicely at this point.

The Senior High wing is progressing very nicely. The floors have been floated and prepared for new flooring (several of the spaces have had the new flooring installed already. The walls have been replaced and mostly painted, new windows installed and the heating system was just completed. Science labs still have quite a lot of work to be done but the progress thus far has been very encouraging.

The hallways throughout the building are still quite a mess with supplies and materials in them and flooring that must be stripped and refinished. The Auditorium, Pool, and LGI will all still need a bit of reconstruction, but we can accomplish work in those spaces as we continue to move forward.

We believe we will be getting the Sr. High wing back prior to the end of the school year. Initially, we did not think we would have the Jr. High Wing completed before May and were uncertain if we would get the Sr. High wing back before the end of the year.

I am very pleased with the overall progress of the project and look forward to the imminent return of our students. We will continue to stay in touch as we get closer to having the spaces turned back over to us for the return of our students.

At this time, we have no updates on insurance as our legal firm is working with NYSIR on a resolution of the matter. While we do not have a definitive dollar amount of the overall costs of the repair calculated at this point, I am pleased to share that the district has been able to make the repairs completed thus far with a combination of the insurance dollars paid, district fund balance and unallocated dollars from the contingency portion of our ongoing capital project. To date, there has been no additional costs incurred or anticipated to occur for the taxpayers of Whitehall.

I hope that everyone is well and that each of you stay safe and healthy.

Patrick