As construction of the new High School nears completion the District’s construction team is moving to a new phase in the project, planning for the fit-up of the new High School.  This includes the physical move of furniture, equipment, books and supplies and outfitting the new High School with new furniture and technology.

The physical move between the two high schools will begin the day after the last day of school, and will happen quickly so demolition of the current school can begin.  The District is now in the process of soliciting proposals from commercial moving companies.  Most of the existing furniture will be replaced with new furniture, similar to other school construction projects (such as Bowdoin Central and the Middle School).  Plans are being made to provide opportunities to reuse existing furniture by making it available first to other schools in the District, then to our town governments and libraries, and then to our community at-large through a community “yard sale”.  The District is also exploring options for recycling student and staff tables and chairs to reuse the metal content of this furniture.

Committees for both technology and furniture selection have been busy over the last year, working closely with consultants, students, staff and the Building Committee in exploring products and testing samples.  The planning for new furniture and equipment is largely complete, and requests for competitive proposals and pricing are either complete or in process.  The installation of new technology and the telephone system will begin in June, and the installation of new furniture is scheduled to take place between July 6^th and July 13th.

Other activities will be taking place in the new School over the summer as well.  Three different pieces of art commissioned through the Percent for Art program and a dedication wall will be installed.  (You can see one of the pieces of art – a mural to be hung in the cafeteria – on the construction page of our website.)  Installation of solar panels on the roof will begin in the late spring and extend into the summer months.

The new High School will indeed be a busy place over the summer as excitement grows for the opening of the new Mt. Ararat High School in September.