The expectation is that all Warwick schools will open as planned on Aug. 29, says Steve Gothberg. As director of capital projects and construction, Gothberg is overseeing multiple school projects dependent on materials being delivered on time, relocating entire schools from one building to another, contractors completing renovations and a moving company that was awarded a $443,600 contract Monday night.

The scope of work appears daunting.

Oakland Beach School that operated from the former Gorton Junior High School for the last academic year is returning to its home. The move allows Holliman School, which will undergo extensive renovations, to move to Gorton. That’s a couple of moving pieces. There’s more to be done before classes resume.

Programs currently located in Drum Rock will go in separate directions. The transition special education program for 18 to 22 year olds will return to the Pilgrim High School Annex where it had once been housed. The child development program will move to double wide classroom trailers that were recently moved to the Career and Tech Center just down the hill. The move is being done now since when ground is broken for a new Toll Gate High School in March, Drum Rock will come down.

Gothberg wants to see the programs relocated now, rather than uprooting them in March. He said the demolition of Drum Rock is necessitated by the repositioning of the new Toll Gate because of soil conditions and ledge. The new school is also to be closely located to the Career and Tech Center.

There’s more to be accomplished in barely three weeks.

The former Greene Elementary School on Draper Avenue next to Gorton, now being shared by the West Bay Collaborative and some school administration offices, is currently undergoing about $500,000 in renovations to bring in compliance with fire and handicapped codes. Gothberg expects the work will be completed in time for the Rhode Island Alternative Academy to occupy the entire building. Founded in 2017 with a mission of serving students who have difficulty in traditional schools, the academy will lease the property, said School Committee Chair Shaun Galligan. Galligan said the academy would serve Warwick students thereby reducing out of district busing costs.

Then there’s Greenwood School that is undergoing the final phases of installing an HVAC system. Furniture was removed from the building under a contract with Jada Trucking LLC at the end of the academic year and is now being stored in eight trailers parked at Robertson School. Jada was to have returned the furnishings, but their contract was rescinded last month when the School Committee initiated an investigation and Mayor Frank Picozzi called on state police to investigate why the contract was awarded without competitive bids and claims that Jada did not have the proper licenses or insurance certificates to do the job. Jada’s bid to move Holliman to Gordon was also rescinded.

Those discrepancies were brought to light by Chuck Lamendola, president of Astro of New England Movers, which over the years has been retained by the schools to do moving work.

Astro was one of two companies that bid on the work last week. Lamendola was selected to do a portion of the work with the rest of it going to Vito’s Expresss. Saying he was interested in the whole job, not just a portion, Lamendola turned down the award. He questioned whether Vito’s could complete the work on time. The move from Holliman to Gorton was slated to start yesterday.

Gothberg said the department checked out Vito’s references.

“They have promised they can perform,” he said.

Not everything is going to be in place when school bells ring.

Gothberg plans on having crews work through the weekends at Oakland Beach and then go on shifts once school starts in order to replace windows with hurricane resistant glass as required by the Rhode Island Education Department of schools within a mile of the coast. Delivery of the windows started this week.

“It looks like we’re going to make it. Everything [other than some work at Oakland Beach] looks to be on time,” said Gothberg.