Students set to attend Lincoln's newest elementary school will have a couple of weeks added to their summer break.
Robinson Elementary, the new school under construction near 102nd and Holdrege streets, will not open Aug. 15 as planned, Lincoln Public Schools leaders announced in an email to families Friday evening.
Instead, classes at the new school will begin Aug. 29. Officials said the delay of the start date will not extend the school year for Robinson students, who instead will attend school several minutes longer each day to make up missed instructional time.
More details on the schedule change will be announced Monday.
"I know this news is disappointing, and not having your child in school for two additional weeks may create challenges," LPS Superintendent Paul Gausman said in the message to parents. "That challenge was not our intention, and I apologize.
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"However, I wanted to get this information to you as quickly as possible so you can begin planning for your family. We will work to ensure your child will have a unique and celebratory start to the school year when we are able to welcome them into the school building on Aug. 29."
Gausman toured the school Friday, along with members of the media and Robinson staff members seeing the building for the first time.
Following the tour, Gausman met with the contractor for the project, Kingery Construction, along with other district and school leaders, and at that meeting, the decision was made to delay the start of classes at Robinson by two weeks.
Gausman noted that LPS faced a challenging timeline to get the new school open in time while dealing with supply chain issues and labor shortages linked to the ongoing pandemic.
"Out of an abundance of caution, I do not feel we will be ready to safely open the school building to students on Aug. 15," Gausman wrote. "In order to ensure the safety of all our staff and students, we need to allow the construction team extra time to finish the core areas."
Robinson is expected to welcome about 290 students when it opens later this month.
Officials said Friday that the district's other new school, Lincoln Northwest High School, will open as planned Aug. 15.