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Photo by Jim Craven Workers put up drywall in the auditorium of the new Ashland Middle School building Wednesday. Officials unworried by middle school delay By WENDY SIPOREN ASHLAND -- Construction of 18 new classrooms at the middle school is four months behind schedule, but should be completed by April. District business manager Loren Luman declined to specify the nature of the delays, but did say that soft spots under the foundation will cost the district an additional $150,000 over the contractor's original bid of $5.3 million for the project. That figure is still within the $200,000 contingency fund set aside by the district for just those sorts of unexpected problems, he said. Thompson Construction of Portland originally had planned to complete the 68,000-square-foot building by now. Crews still need to finish installing windows, drywall and all other interior work. Ashland School Board member Alan DeBoer said some of the delays had to do with design issues and problems with meeting fire codes. "There have been some design changes, but nothing that's surprising to us," DeBoer said. He also said weather was partly to blame for the schedule disruption. And the district had to switch window manufacturers, which delayed closing the interior to the elements and in turn put off other interior work, he said. "It's a big project. We feel that it's moving right along," he said. Luman said the delays haven't caused problems for this year's teaching schedule since the district didn't plan on using the building until the start of the new school year. "The building is 80 percent done," he said. "We're still optimistic that we will have it for the next school year." The district rents rooms in a variety of locations to accommodate a student population that's larger than the middle school's capacity. All of the nearly 800 middle school students will return to the main campus this fall, Luman said. Adroit Construction of Ashland finished the 14,000-square-foot gymnasium project on schedule and close to its $1.65 million bid. Balls have been flying around the gym since it opened in October. The middle school is the third part of district improvements made possible by passage two years ago of a $21 million bond. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA