Although construction on the new Wareham Elementary School will be finished soon, Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Shaver-Hood said it’s likely students won’t begin attending classes in the new building until January 2022.

School Committee and School Building Committee member Geoff Swett said that the building is on its way to being substantially completed in October, but Shaver-Hood said that some furniture and other supplies were delayed.

“Unfortunately, we’re receiving some not so happy news that the software, our supplies and equipment like furniture — we’re looking at a delay,” Shaver-Hood said. “We anticipate that’s going to push our move back.”

During an Aug. 5 School Committee meeting, Shaver-Hood said officials were waiting to hear about the status of many of the items they’d ordered for the new school. 

“I heard that our cafeteria chairs were definitely on a delay,” she said. “Not being able to seat our students at lunch time would be a barrier to having school.”  

Swett said that much of the furniture and equipment could “show up whenever it feels like it.”

“It’s a pretty chaotic industry, according to our project manager,” he said. “So we’ll be happy when it shows up.”

In mid-June, officials thought that a move to the new school would be possible in October — months ahead of schedule. 

The announcement of an expected January 2022 move-in puts the project back on its original schedule, where instruction would begin at the new building after winter vacation.

Shaver-Hood noted that the district had avoided shortages of things like steel, while many other recent projects “have not experienced that good fortune.” 

Despite the delay, she said the school was coming along nicely. 

“We’re moving along with the construction — it’s just beautiful,” Shaver-Hood said. “The progress that they’ve made is simply amazing.”