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Construction scheduling prompts day off at Dee-Mack high school
By Phyllis Coulter
pcoulter@pantagraph.com
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MACKINAW -- Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School students got to sleep in Friday morning after a problem with construction scheduling caused the district to cancel classes.

Other Dee-Mack primary, junior high and intermediate students went to school as usual Friday, as the construction project doesn’t affect them.

Superintendent Steve Yarnell said he had to make a tough call Thursday in deciding whether to close the high school for a day as part of the district’s long-term, $5.4 million construction efforts.

He was forced to make the decision, which was announced Thursday, because of scheduling he had no power over — and because the electricity will be out in the high school at 401 E. Fifth St. for six to eight hours Friday.

A transformer had to be moved so an older building on the high school site can be demolished. That move was set to cause the outage.

But the transformer’s move had to be organized through Ameren, the district’s electrical contractors, Overlander Electric of Peoria, and the general contractor of Pekin-based Vanguard Contractors.

The contractors have been ready for weeks and Yarnell had hoped to get the work done during Easter break, but Ameren wasn’t available then.

“We’re at the mercy of Ameren,” he said of scheduling.

If this part of the construction were delayed even until the end of school June 2, it would have endangered school starting on time in the fall.

“It was either one day now more or possibly many days later,” he said.

Parents and high school students were notified Thursday through the district’s automated system. The school closure is also posted on the school district’s Web site, www.deemack.org.

Yarnell got permission from the Regional Office of Education to allow junior high, intermediate, and elementary school students to attend classes Friday. All school activities were scheduled to continue as planned Friday, Yarnell said.

As required by their contracts mandating 180 workdays, high school teachers will have to make up the day off by working June 3.

Yarnell is no stranger to challenges in construction. A surprise hole was created during construction at the district’s intermediate school in Deerk Creek a few years ago when he was principal.

Classes are expected to resume Monday as usual.

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