LA GRANDE — Summer is a window of opportunity for school district grounds and maintenance crews as they race the clock to complete work that can only be done when buildings are vacant.

Beneficiaries of this summer’s work include Island City Elementary School, where the aging concrete in its main entry area has been repaved.

“It has created a more even surface,” said Joseph Waite, La Grande School District’s facilities manager.

Waite noted the smoother surface will be much easier to remove snow from during the winter months, with no crevices to trap snow and ice. The repaving work was needed because the top layer of concrete had crumbled and exposed rock underneath, Waite said.

Restoration work of a different kind has been done at La Grande High School. Its six-year-old track has been repaired. Cracks have been sealed and the entire 400-meter oval has been recoated with a synthetic material.

Indoors, the high school’s horticulture classroom has been converted into a lab where plants can be grown using hydroponics. A form of hydroculture, hydroponics involves growing plants, usually crops, without soil by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions.

Renovation work in the horticulture classroom included moving old manholes covered by metal grates and covering them with epoxy flooring. The manholes were a vestige of the school’s former auto shop that operated in the large classroom.

Waite said the classroom is safer now. The manhole covers were a hazard to students because the legs of chairs and tables could get caught in the grates. Fortunately, the grates caused no injuries, Waite said.

Carpeting has been installed at the high school in the office area near the main entrance, replacing carpeting that was at least 20 years old.

“I think it was the same carpeting the high school had when I was a student there,” said Waite, who graduated from the high school in 2002.

At La Grande Middle School, a larger freezer was installed, which also necessitated electrical wiring work. The kitchen’s refrigerator and old freezer were moved into an adjacent hallway. Shelves have also been rearranged in the kitchen this summer, creating more work space for staff, Waite said.

Also at the middle school, stairwells have been repaired and repainted, and additional security cameras have been installed.