Schools closed for summer construction work

Four schools in Oceanside will be closed over the summer for construction and rehabilitation work.

Oceanside High School, School No. 3, School No. 4 and School No. 8 will be closed, as well as the auditorium in School No. 6 and its surrounding areas. The auditorium’s seats will be removed and replaced, and a new air conditioning system will be installed.

The district awarded almost $5.8 million for the various projects to contractors at its board of education meeting on May 10. This includes new asphalt and paving at School No. 4, replacing doors, replacing the roof at School No. 8, renovating the locker rooms at Oceanside High School and replacing the boilers at School No. 6. Also included is finishing the renovation of Oceanside High School’s roof, which was started last summer.

Oceanside also rejected bids for flushometer replacement, and HVAC and electrical work for the School No. 6 boiler room. The school district will review this work and put it out for bids again in the future.

Construction will begin on June 27. If needed, some projects, such as doors, can be completed during the new school year, but major work such as parking lots and roofs will be done by September.

The renovations are phases two and three of the district’s $30 million bond, which voters approved in February 2014. As of April, the district has borrowed $12 million of the bond for these projects. It is a 15-year loan with an interest rate of 2.8 percent.

Due to the construction, the summer playground program from the Department of Community Activities will be moved from School No. 8 to School No. 2, School No. 5, School No. 6 and School No. 9.