High School Move-in Date Pushed Back To June

The date for students to move into the new academic and science wing at the renovated , originally scheduled for April, has been revised to June, town officials announced last week.

Town Manager Wayne Marquis said the town met several times over the course of the last month in regard to the completeness of the project. Certain events, including subcontractors bowing out due to financial difficulty, had an effect on the schedule.

Marquis said the town felt it was in a position that April would be "too tight" to punch out things that would need to be fixed, in a "way that we'll all feel good, without any margin for error."

"Realistically we want a timely but a high quality project, and certainly Bacon [the project's contractor] has a reputation of quality," Marquis said. "We all agreed that moving to June first would serve all interests better, most importantly for our students and teaching staff, who we didn't want in a building that wasn't fully functional."

Since June marks the end of the academic year, students will remain in the Dunn Wing, and will officially start the '12-'13 academic year in September in the new building.

"For September it works beautifully because it gives us ample opportunity to complete the punch list over the summer," Marquis said.

Danvers High School Principal Susan Ambrozavitch addressed the issue with parents on Friday afternoon, stating "we are confident that the decision made is in the best interest of all parties - but most importantly, our students.  For the remainder of the 2011-2012 academic year, their learning experiences should continue to be seamless."

Marquis said the completion date for the final phase of the project, August 2013, has not moved.