It took two months and $80,000, but the gym at the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School is once again in use.
In early August, just before the new school year was to begin, the district applied a coat of Comply Gym Floor Finish to gym floors in the high school and middle school, just as they do every year. Instead of restoring a beautiful shine, however, the finish refused to dry and turned the floor into a sea of goop.
The fix involved sanding the floor down to the wood then reapplying four coats of finish, along with all the lines needed for various sports and the BH-BL Spartans logo at center court. The high school gym was reopened Monday, Oct. 6, while two floors in the Middle School will need another week and a half of work.
While the batch of finish used was only $2,200, fixing the problem has become much more costly. According to district spokesperson Christy Multer, the district spent $80,000 on the repairs and associated costs like transporting sport teams to rented facilities for practices and games. The money was, of course, not budgeted.
We’re asking the manufacturer of the gym floor finish that we used back in August to reimburse us, said Multer.
That manufacturer is Wisconsin-based Essential Industries. A representative was not immediately available for comment.
The gym floor was christened Monday by the boys volleyball team, who took on Shaker. The girls volleyball team will take the court on Tuesday, Oct. 7 against Averill Park.“