The Burlington School District is in the final stages of securing temporary space for all of its technical center students, officials said Wednesday.
The announcement comes roughly one month after the school district revealed it would shutter both Burlington High School and the Burlington Technical Center for the semester after detecting elevated levels in the air of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a probable carcinogen.
Seven tech center programs had already returned to in-person learning in separate locations around the city starting Oct. 5, according to the district, and the school board on Tuesday approved funding to secure space for the remaining programs.
“Working to secure alternative locations reaffirmed just how committed our community is to our Technical Center,” Jason Gingold, the tech center director, said in a statement. “Every phone call I made was returned and those who couldn’t help were able to identify additional leads or create pathways for future collaborations.”
The district is now negotiating with the owners of the Cambrian Rise development to house the tech center’s digital media lab, design illustration, and health sciences programs, and is in talks with a former South Burlington garage to host two automotive programs. The spaces should be ready for students in about two weeks, district officials said.
All told, Burlington Superintendent Tom Flanagan said Wednesday that the district will probably spend between $350,000 and $400,000 to temporarily rehome the tech center’s roughly 250 students.
The tech center’s criminal justice program has already moved into the office building at 12-22 North St., its aviation program is now at the Burlington International Airport, and its health care program is meeting at the King Street Youth Center, district officials say. The Carpenters Union is hosting both advanced manufacturing and pre-tech programming, and the Pipefitters Union is housing the welding program. The tech center’s human services program is now at North Avenue Alliance Church, and culinary arts is being taught at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, also on North Avenue.
For now, the high school’s nearly 1,000 students are still doing the vast majority of their work online. Burlington High’s closure has wrought substantial anger in the community, with many parents livid that their children, who were first sent home in the spring because of the pandemic, still do not have access to face-to-face instruction.
The district has set a goal of bringing high school students back for in-person learning at the latest by the second semester, which starts in January. But Flanagan said it’s possible students could return earlier, and emphasized the district is working aggressively to either identify an alternate space for students or complete the remediation work needed to reopen the building.
“I hear them, I agree with them. I’m feeling very — like a huge amount of responsibility to get students back in person as soon as possible,” the superintendent said.
The school board is expected to continue discussing what to do about Burlington High on Oct. 20.