Students in the Kenton County School system will get an extended summer break this year.

        Because of renovations at two high schools, Kenton County's 12,526 students will head back to school Aug. 28, about two weeks later than normal, school officials said. The last day for students during the 2002-2003 school year will be June 5.

        Rob Haney, director of support operations and safety for Kenton County Schools, said that bids for the two projects — at Dixie Heights and Simon Kenton — should be awarded at the Feb. 25 school board meeting. Construction will start soon after, and the renovations are expected to be finished by the start of the 2003-2004 school year.

        “We will do everything that we can to minimize disruption and certainly safety will be paramount,” Mr. Haney said of the two projects. During the school year, he said protective barriers will be erected, and much of the work will involve construction away from instructional areas.

        Most of the summer renovation will involve work on the heating and cooling and fire suppression systems in the existing classrooms of both buildings and the demolition of Dixie's old cafeteria/kitchen and construction of a new one. Last summer, workers built a temporary cafeteria and kitchen at Dixie, renovated some Simon Kenton restrooms, and converted old locker rooms into classrooms at Simon Kenton as a stopgap measure to accommodate growth in the southern end of the county, Mr. Haney said.

        Both schools were built in 1937 and have received similar additions, most recently in 1980.

        “They are almost identical in nature,” Mr. Haney said of the two schools. For the latest renovations, he said two architects have been hired to give each building a distinct identity.

        The total project, which began last summer at each school, calls for $21 million worth of improvements to Simon Kenton and $16 million for Dixie Heights, Mr. Haney said.

        Besides the new cafeteria and kitchen, Dixie will get new guidance areas, a new library, and heating and cooling systems.

        At Simon Kenton, a new media center will be built, Mr. Haney said. When it's finished, the existing library will be converted into five classrooms. An instructional wing will be added and a new cafeteria and kitchen will be built.

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