FOREST CITY -- Students at a school in Susquehanna County are finally starting their school year.
Classes in the Forest City Regional School District were delayed about three weeks due to a renovation project at the school.
Construction to the gym, classrooms, and other areas of the school fell behind, extending summer vacation a bit for kids there.
The school in Susquehanna County is undergoing several renovations that are now not expected to be completed until next summer.
"The renovation project will continue throughout the 2017-18 school year," said Forest City Regional Superintendent Jessica Aquilina. "Our contractors did a great job of getting us the critical spaces that will impact curriculum and instruction. We knew that construction would be ongoing throughout this year, so we're really pleased to have our students back and our teachers back filling our classrooms."
The renovation will offer the community a state-of-the-art facility.
"The scope of the renovation project was really focused on improving the overall security of the physical plant, as well as the instructional spaces for our teachers and students."
Although the overall long-term outlook looks pleasing, some students find the current condition of the school frustrating.
"Everything is different. They had to give us maps to get around and find new rooms, and it was kind of confusing," said senior Mikayla Piasecki.
"You don't know where to go half the time because classrooms are constantly being moved around. It's just messy in there. It's not finished. It's haphazardly done. They have temporary walls up everywhere. It's not really finished," said junior Emil Mikolon.
With the ongoing construction here at Forest City High School, students are weighing the positives and the negatives. With the September 19 start date, students received an extended summer, but that only means they'll be in school later into the spring.
"We have shorter holiday time. They were thinking about sending us back in October, but they didn't. They just want to get this done and I don't know, I think it's taking longer than it should," said Piesecki.
"If they're having it the way it is now, we should have been in school at the end of August. There's no reason for this," Mikolon added.
The last day of school has been set for June 8.