The Fairport Harbor School District is looking for ways to expedite construction of a paved parking lot needed for its new K-12 school, scheduled to open at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

District leaders are considering a plan that would allow Harding Middle and High School to finish the current school year early in May because of an asbestos abatement project that must be completed in the building before it is demolished.

Harding’s abatement efforts and demolition will impact how quickly the parking lot for the new school can be built.

An inspection by a contractor found that asbestos abatement in Harding would take about twice as long as originally planned.

CT Taylor Construction initially estimated it could take around four to six weeks. The Hudson-based company is serving as prime contractor at risk for the construction of the new school.

However, after a separate contractor carried out on-site sampling and quantified the amount of asbestos to be removed, it was confirmed that the project would take eight to ten weeks.

Even once the asbestos is removed, it would still take “a good, solid period of time to demolish the building, backfill it, install the storm structures and utilities, and lay the asphalt,” said Ryan Fink, CT Taylor project manager. .

Given the time required for asbestos abatement and demolition of the building, the school’s construction schedule indicated the parking lot would be completed by October or November, district Superintendent William Billington said.

“Abatement delays demolition, which also delays parking, so it’s this domino effect,” he said.

Asbestos abatement cannot begin until all students and staff leave Harding. The school is now scheduled to finish the 2024-25 school year with graduation on May 23.

However, Billington said the district is considering some options that could help contractors start asbestos processing sooner.

One of those ideas is extending the length of Harding students’ school day through distance learning.

This plan would require Harding students to participate in 30 minutes of distance learning daily, after their regular school day is over, during the second semester.

Billington explained that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce requires that high school students receive a minimum of 1,001 hours of instruction during a school year.

So if Harding students added 30 minutes of distance learning per day to their total hours of in-class learning for the rest of the year, the school year could end on May 2.

“We are working on the plans to monitor and make sure students complete the extra 30 minutes,” Billington said.

If Harding’s school year ended May 2, asbestos abatement contractors could start their project in the building about three weeks earlier than planned.

“It’s really about trying to get the abatement and demolition done sooner so we can have parking in the fall,” Billington said.

The district has submitted its blended learning plan to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce for review and authorization.

But the proposal would also need to be approved by the Fairport Harbor School Board before it could be implemented.

Billington said the school board will likely discuss that plan, and perhaps vote on it, at a meeting in November or December.

“If we want to finish on May 2 when we announced May 23, we need to let the parents of Harding students know as soon as possible what the plan is,” he said.

Additionally, the district could keep McKinley Elementary in its current building at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. This could alleviate what is expected to be a large increase in traffic on Vine Street outside the new school.

“At least until we are ready to handle this influx of students and staff,” Billington said.

The district is building its new K-12 school on the former green space adjacent to Harding along New Fourth Street near the intersection of Vine Street. Construction has been taking place for about a year and a half.

Harding, located at 329 Vine St., will eventually be demolished and the land where the building stood will be converted into parking for the new school.

McKinley Elementary School will also be demolished once its students and staff move to the new school.

Harding and McKinley are based in buildings more than 100 years old.

The new 116,000 square foot K-12 school will feature state-of-the-art technology; modern systems for building operations and safety and security; a central courtyard; and a new Fairport Harbor Public Library.

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission approved $46.9 million to serve as the state’s contribution to the construction of the new school in Fairport Harbor. This allocation came after Fairport Harbor Village voters approved a $5 million bond issue for school construction.

Fairport Harbor Schools set aside $3.5 million from the bond issue specifically for school construction. The additional $1.5 million raised from the bond issue was earmarked to build a new public library as part of the new school.

Currently, the estimated cost of building the new school is about $48.5 million, Billington said.

A construction schedule established by CT Taylor before the project began in 2023 indicated that students and staff would be in the new school by September 15, 2025.

The school district has not established its 2025-26 calendar — including start and end dates for the school year — “due to the unknowns regarding construction,” Billington said.

Whenever the school year begins at the new K-12 school, vehicle traffic in the area will become much heavier on weekdays, he said.

Currently, there are approximately 300 students at Harding Middle and High School. They will be joined by roughly the same number of students who currently attend McKinley Elementary School, located at 602 Plum St. in the village.

“In addition to the 300 additional students who will be welcomed into the new school, we will also add 40 to 45 additional staff members,” Billington said. “So this will significantly increase traffic congestion.”

He pointed to the situation that occurred when Harding lost its parking lot at the start of the 2024-25 school year. This land was located next to the green space where the new school is being built.

“With no parking in Harding, high school staff and students who are already driving are parking on every nearby street,” he said.

The initial lack of parking at the new school is also expected to create more traffic congestion when students are dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.