The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board’s Facilities Committee received updates Thursday morning on several ongoing construction projects and the district’s custodial staffing levels. Director of Facilities and Maintenance Matt Rapp said the district continues to make steady progress across multiple locations.

Rapp reported that work at Fishers Elementary School is “coming along,” and he expects students to return to the building on schedule after winter break on January 5. Teachers should be able to access their classrooms beginning January 1. The next major phase of the project will involve demolishing the front portion of the building. Parking capacity has been expanded along the sides of the school, and while buses and pedestrians are now separated, Rapp cautioned that some safety challenges will remain during demolition.

At Fall Creek Intermediate, the project’s next phase is scheduled to begin in March, when construction will shift from one wing of the school to the other.

Work at Durbin is now complete, including updates to the conference area and the Academy space.

Rapp also noted that the long-problematic drive at Hamilton Southeastern High School has been finished and is already proving to be a significant improvement for traffic flow.

Meanwhile, construction at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate & Junior High (HIJH) remains on schedule and within budget.

Rapp provided the committee with an update on custodial services as well. He said complaints have decreased in recent weeks, and the contractor currently has only four custodial job openings — a relatively small number for a district of HSE’s size. To help supplement staffing, the district uses about 10 cleaning robots capable of maintaining carpets and hard floors in large, unobstructed areas when employees are absent.