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Crumbling Foundation Delays First Day of School in Tolland

Tuesday marks the first day of school for kids in Tolland, but it is a few days later than expected.

A crumbling foundation at Birch Grove Primary School caused the delay.

Administrators, teachers and volunteers have been working around the clock to get portable classrooms ready for students on their first day of school.

It required a lot of moving boxes and a lot of unpacking.

Teachers have been rushing throughout the last week to set up their classrooms in anticipation of the first day.

"It’s a lot different. I have 93 boxes to unpack. We all have a lot to do. There's always a ton to do, you know name tags, labels, and getting the classroom ready so there's always a lot to do, but this is a lot more," said kindergarten teacher Anthea Grotton.

On Tuesday, students will be welcomed inside and will spend the next two years learning in the portable classrooms.

During that time, the school building will be undergoing renovations to fix the crumbling foundations.

The state has been a huge help with all of it financially.

The district said the state is paying for 89-percent of the bill to rebuild. The modular classrooms cost an additional $9 million that the state also paid for.

"Tolland has been able to invest in this project to replace our school. Deeply thankful to all those entities. This school is the first step in that process," said Tolland Superintendent of Schools Walter Willett.

The district did delay the start of school for almost a week, but Willett called the quick construction and setup a miracle.

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