WASHINGTON COUNTY - More than 20,000 public school students head back to school today in Washington County. After a bustling summer, almost everything is ready for their arrival.
School system maintenance employees and contractors spent the summer working on about $5.5 million in improvement projects.
There were 144 construction and maintenance projects scheduled for summer work, and as of Tuesday night, 121 had been completed, according to Assistant Superintendent for School Operations Boyd Michael.
"Three more will be done (today)," said Michael Peplinski, supervisor of operations and maintenance.
The replacement of running tracks at county schools cost $316,000, according to data presented at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting. About $1.5 million in work was completed on ceiling and lighting projects.
The most costly project this summer was the removal of asbestos tile and the replacement of lights at Williamsport High School. The school's lighting system needed to be replaced and improved, Michael said. That could not be done without disturbing the school's ceiling tiles, which were made of asbestos. Those tiles were removed as part of a project that cost nearly $1 million.