The first day of school wasn't what some students and parents expected Thursday in Paso Robles, as construction left at least a few confused and concerned.
While Bauer Speck Elementary School is undergoing renovations, students have been relocated to a temporary campus still under construction next to Flamson Middle School.
"I was so frustrated, I didn't even want to take the kids to school," said Mark Van Dyke, grandfather of Bauer Speck Elementary School students.
When he visited the school's new campus a day before classes started, he says what he saw was unacceptable.
"The nails laying out, staples laying everywhere, there's wood all over the place," Van Dyke said.
He says teachers told him their classes didn't have working air conditioning and outlets for electricity with school only a day away.
Van Dyke did end up sending his grandchildren to school but says parking and picking up his grandchildren is a fiasco because of limited parking.
Dr. Curt Dubost, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent, says before the first day of school, teachers had some challenges setting up the classrooms and some parents expressed their concerns.
But he says crews worked through the night to fix the air conditioning and any other issues inside the classrooms, to make sure it was safe and ready for the first day of school.
"I do want to assure parents that everything was done in the classroom as far as preparation for academic learning," Dubost said. "We're not saying it was perfect because it wasn't. It wasn't as bad as we feared it might be. It wasn't as good as we hoped."
Dubost says the paving for the bus pick-up and drop-off area should be completed by next Saturday but adds other construction should be continuing for the next couple of weeks.
Dubost says that additional construction will be worked on outside of school hours.
