Charlotte Community School work underway

If you’ve driven past the Charlotte Community School during the past month, you may have noticed that there are big construction projects afoot.

This work is Phase Two of renovations at the school.

Phase One took place during the summer of 2021, improving ventilation, replacing siding and insulation, and installing more thermally efficient windows and doors, the school system said in a release.

This summer Phase Two work is finishing life-safety and code-compliance work begun last year. The renovations are funded in part by a bond residents of the Champlain Valley School District towns approved during Town Meeting Day voting this March.

The front part of the building was gated off on June 19 to allow excavation work. Contractors are making room for five 4000-gallon water tanks that will feed the new fire suppression system.

Underground utilities are being upgraded for electrical service and a new generator system will be installed to keep the building fully functional if it loses power.

All the ceilings on the first floor have been removed so electrical updates can be made and fire suppression lines can be extended everywhere.

The hope is that the demolition derby of dodging potholes in the bus lot will be a thing of the past.

“This summer, we are reconstructing and paving the lot and creating a smooth parking area that will accommodate buses and community members. While that paving project is underway, the ‘bus lot’ will be closed to community traffic,” the release said.

If you are hiking the Pease Mountain Trail, school officials ask you use the parking lot on the east side of the school building.