Start Of School Delayed For OKC Middle School Due To Construction

The first day of school is right around the corner for Oklahoma City Public Schools. All of the schools except one will start on Monday because of unforeseen construction.

Friday, August 2nd 2013, 7:47 pm

By: News 9


The first day of school is right around the corner for Oklahoma City Public Schools. All of the schools except one will start on Monday because of unforeseen construction.

Parents showed up to Taft Middle School on the day of its scheduled orientation, hoping to enroll their children for Monday, but they couldn't.

"No enrollment until August 12," a Taft staff member told Anita Hennesy, who was trying to enroll her daughter.

Taft will stay closed for another week to complete construction.

"Right now, there are issues with the ceiling tiles, there aren't any in the schools, we have wires hanging down and also some issues with the sewer line," said Tierney Tinnin, Oklahoma City Public Schools.

"And it's just not safe or conducive for our kids to walk into that school on August 5th."

Just days ago, the school discovered they'd have to totally replace its outdated plumbing.

"The only solution to get the school open is to completely reroute the entire sewer line to an existing manhole some 450 feet to the exit of the building," said John Gleason, Vice president of Schuler Enterprises plumbing company.

"But we should have this in place and inspected in no time."

Across the school parking lot, more construction is underway on a brand new Taft stadium, which will take months to complete.

Crews have been working on Taft Middle School for more than a year, so some parents don't mind another week.

"Well, I mean it's a little inconvenient, but if they're fixing it for the safety and the wellbeing of the kids, then I think it's well worth a little delay," said Kerensa Keita, who was planning to enroll her 8th grade son in Taft.

"It's a little mess now, but I think they'll get it cleaned up."

About 1,000 students are enrolled at Taft Middle School and expected to start on August 12th.

The school is rescheduling orientation for some time next week. If construction ends early, parents will be notified of the new start date.

Even with the delayed start, Taft Middle School will still be on track to finish school at the same time as other Oklahoma City Public schools on May 30, 2014.

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