Concord’s Board of Education approved an estimated $750,000 repair to the high school’s auditorium, most or all of which is expected to be covered by the district’s insurance carrier.
The work is required to fix significant damage to the auditorium’s ceiling, which was discovered when a five-inch piece of plaster fell from it in September.
The auditorium will remain closed throughout the project, which is expected to last into the late winter or early spring, director of facilities and planning Matt Cashman said.
The work will be completed by Harvey Construction, the same firm that is set to build Concord’s recently-approved middle school.
The board voted to waive its standard bidding process because administrators said the process would both delay the project and increase its cost. The district is currently paying $35,000 per month for scaffolding, which went up shortly after the plaster fell.
Business administrator Jack Dunn said the district was in contact with its insurance provider, Primex. He expected the company to cover all of the expenses unless “there’s some incidentals that all of a sudden come up.”
The repairs mean that performing arts classes and groups will be without their typical performance space until the late winter or spring of next year.
Kristen Gallo, the interim principal of the high school, said that those groups are temporarily using classrooms instead. District leaders are also considering offsite alternatives for certain events, including the Capitol Center for the Arts and the City Auditorium.
The senior-directed one-act plays, scheduled for Dec. 4 to 6, will proceed in the high school’s band room.