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Ritchie Elementary School Renovations to Continue Through First Day of School in Ohio County

While students returning to Ritchie Elementary School may not see any construction workers when they report for classes, they will see proof the summer was spent hard at work.

However, that work, part of a multi-million-dollar renovation project, will not be finished by the first day of school, Ohio County Board of Education members learned Monday. Ohio County Schools Maintenance Director Brian Harto said once school begins, remaining repair work on the 90-year-old building will be done only after students leave for the day.

The top priority for the maintenance crew is getting air conditioning restored to the building — not a fast process, and not one expected to be completed by students’ first day on Aug. 15.

“We did some talking a few weeks ago, and we decided to be ready for the first day of school. So we brought in personal air conditioners for the classrooms. They’re putting those in today,” Harto said during Monday’s meeting. “They’ll go through, check all those before next week, but that work will continue to get done as soon as they can. Even once completed, it still needs to be filled, flushed, checked, so it is a lengthy process. We don’t want to rush it and then have problems.”

The portable air conditioning units were brought in by contractor Nello Construction from Pittsburgh to accommodate the students in the August heat. The 4-foot-tall machines, Harto said, “move a lot of air,” and board member Tim Birch said he had positive experiences with the cooling units during the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival.

“Last year, it kept the tents cool in the 90-degree weather. It’s pretty impressive,” Birch said.

Harto said heavy machinery would remain in place outside the school as renovation work continues, although crews won’t be working during the school day. Also, work on the roof over the school’s pool — which was corroded due to moist, chlorinated air — has not yet begun, but Harto said it should be complete by the spring semester.

The Ritchie Elementary project — funded with almost $5.9 million from the West Virginia School Building Authority and $1.8 million in school district funds — remains on budget, according to Steve Bieniek, business manager for Ohio County Schools.

“We’ve had change orders that they found in the process of construction work, but a lot of that is already worked into the budget,” Harto added. “We’re progressing along at the pace we’d projected to be at.”

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