The Union City Board of Education has announced that it is making needed upgrades to the Emerson Middle School building and surrounding area. In a correspondence to parents, Juston Mercado, the Director of Facilities for the Board, stated, “As you know, Emerson is one of the older structures in our district and now, thanks to a generous Schools Development Authority grant that we secured this past year, we are installing new windows throughout the building at no cost to our Union City taxpayers. In addition to the new windows, we have made structural repairs to the building, and the City of Union City has repaved the streets outside the school.”
Mercado went on to say that all the proper precautions have taken place so when students return to classes following the spring break, everything will be completed. “As with most older buildings, remediation is required before beginning new upgrades, and that is why we waited until schools were closed to perform this work. Additionally, to ensure maximum safety compliance, all work is being performed under OSHA guidelines and being supervised by state monitors. As usual, all precautionary measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of our students and staff so that when they return to school on Tuesday, they will be entering a clean and safe environment.”
Mercado says last week’s upgrades are a continuation of last year’s improvements, when the district installed weapons detections systems at the entrances of the two middle schools and high schools “to ensure maximum security for our students and staff, and we will continue to strive to provide the highest level of safety at all times for our community.”