By Heather Bell
RADFORD – Due to construction delays at McHarg Elementary School and Radford High School, the start of the 2022-23 school year has been delayed by two weeks for all Radford City Public School students.
RCPS Superintendent Robert Graham announced the change on Monday.
The first days of school will now be Friday, Aug. 26, for pre-kindergarten, first grade and ninth grade and will be Monday, Aug. 28, for kindergarten and grades two through 12.
Open houses, which were scheduled for this Thursday, Aug. 11, will now be held on Wednesday, Aug. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. for McHarg Elementary School and on Thursday, Aug. 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. for Belle Heth Elementary School, Dalton Intermediate School, and Radford High School.
Graham explained there are several construction projects going on in the school buildings that just were not able to be completed in time.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government offered a number of grants known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief or “ESSER” grants to the Local Education Agencies (LEA) through the State Education Agency (SEA),” Graham said via email. “Divisions could apply for the grants and receive money to support health and safety initiatives, instructional needs, and facility upgrades. Radford City Schools applied for all ESSER grants and received a significant amount of funding as a result.”
“Through these grants, the division earmarked money for Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), HVAC equipment, additional teacher personnel and instructional assistants, and a plethora of building upgrades,” Graham said. “RCPS had already created a facilities priority list, and at the top of the list were the repairs and building upgrades to Radford High School and the completion of the renovation of McHarg Elementary. Other smaller jobs at both Dalton Intermediate and Belle Heth Elementary were in progress, but most of the work was concentrated at RHS and MES.”
Graham said a shortage of workers and the inability to get supplies and materials in a timely manner led to the delays.
“While we hoped we could complete needed repairs and upgrades within the last year and a half, the shortage of workers and the scarcity of products proved challenging, at best,” he said. “Many projects were delayed due to that, and because some of these initiatives are directly linked to school safety, it became evident last week that RCPS needed to delay the opening so that we could allow workers in the building during the daylight hours to finish up.”
Graham said delaying the opening allows the schools “to support the workers in completing the projects and to ensure that all students are able to enter buildings that are safe, comfortable, and conducive to learning.”
“We appreciate your understanding and patience with us, and we look forward to diving into the school year as soon as we can,” Graham said.
