Construction has been completed on a partial roof replacement for Wareham Middle School, fixing the worst of the damage and buying time until a full repair next year. 

The roof, which is leaking and in disrepair, needs a complete overhaul. This repair will take place in the summer of 2024, said Wareham Public Schools Facilities Supervisor Erik Trahan at a School Committee meeting on Thursday, Sept. 21. 

For now, the school district has repaired the worst of the damage, over the middle school's auditorium. 

 "I'm happy to inform you that the roof replacement is complete," said Trahan. The project ran slightly behind schedule, waiting for roof drains, Trahan said. 

The project team installed new roof drains starting on Aug. 1, and demolished the old roof and built the new roof between Aug. 10 and Sept. 8. The roof received a final inspection on Tuesday, Sept. 19. 

The school ideally tries to make sure that all infrastructure work gets done in the summer, but the delay didn't cause too much of a hiccup in kids returning to school, said Trahan. 

Both this year's partial roof replacement and next year's full roof replacement will likely come in under budget, Trahan said. 

The town approved $1.5 million for the partial roof replacement, and the final cost of that project is projected at approximately $1.1 million, according to Trahan. "Fast forward to next year, $7.5 million dollars [is authorized for the full roof replacement]; I don't think that we'll hit that, but you never know."

Another major infrastructure project is nearing completion: the boilers at the Wareham High School. 

"Everything seems to be going good," Trahan told the school committee. "We're still working obviously with students there, but it's very secluded, so [the project team] can keep working while students are there."

All the needed parts are at the site except expansion tanks, but those won't hold up the boiler's start date, said Trahan. 

Controls commissioning for the boiler system will take place on Oct. 6 and the boilers will start up on Oct. 11. 

"Legally, we need to provide heat in that building by October 15, that's [a] state requirement… but we're good to go for that," said Trahan. 

The town funded the boiler project at over $2 million. Right now, the project's cost sits at $1.6 million; more will be spent on contingencies, because of correcting pre-existing conditions, but according to Trahan, the additional cost won't be significant.