High‑school bond work nears finish; guardrail installs, chiller delay and elevator inspection remain

The Ashland School Board received a capital‑bond update Thursday showing heavy August construction work to finish occupied spaces at Ashland High School, a schedule for weekend guardrail installation, a chiller delivery delay now planned for November, and elevators installed and awaiting final inspection.

Steve Mitchell, the district’s director of operations, told the board that crews focused this summer on finishes—paint, flooring, trim and casework—in the Humanities and Science buildings so occupied classrooms would be ready for the start of school. He said remaining work on exterior guardrails pushed into the fall because the guardrails had to be fully assembled and powder coated offsite.

“It was another big milestone. That was something we struggled with all summer was when was all this going to be assembled and delivered to our campus,” Mitchell said. He told the board the guardrails are ready and “they will be working on Saturdays and Sundays for the next, probably, 5 or 6 weekends” to install them, work the district expects will be loud and disruptive.

Mitchell also reported a long‑lead equipment update on mechanical systems: the chiller originally scheduled earlier in the year is now expected to arrive in November, and there are continuing supply‑chain issues around electrical components that could affect the final schedule for gym mechanical systems. He said the completed Science Building roof has held up through recent rain events and that demo and abatement work in other buildings was completed over the unoccupied summer period.

On accessibility, Mitchell said the elevators are installed and “all we need is inspection,” but crews must perform a small finish—chipping and re‑floating a floor transition—before inspectors will clear the units for use. The district’s current target schedule remains to substantially complete major occupied work by December, with certain long‑lead items rolling into the following year.

Board members praised the pace of work and asked for a future presentation focused on the less visible but technical building systems and seismic work inside the renovated high‑school facilities. The district’s construction and bond teams said solar installation and a few remaining projects remain on the multi‑year schedule but that major classroom readiness was largely achieved for the start of the school year.

There were no formal votes tied to the construction update; staff will return with schedule and financial reconciliations in follow‑up reports to the board.