The Westbrook Middle School steering committee will decide Monday whether students will be attending the new school on Jan. 4, as scheduled.

City inspectors still haven’t issued a certificate of occupancy – the first step toward allowing children in the building.

Electrical panels still need to be labeled, the auditorium needs additional emergency lighting and the sanitary system transmitter has to be programmed before inspectors will issue the certificate of occupancy, according to architect Dan Cecil of Harriman Associates.

Cecil said after an inspection Wednesday that he expected to obtain the certificate of occupancy, which was originally supposed to be issued on Dec. 15, on Monday or Tuesday.

After the certificate is issued, a moving company can begin to bring boxes of school supplies into the classrooms. However, the steering committee will have to vote to accept the building before teachers start unpacking the boxes and students can start attending the school.

Middle school students were supposed to start attending the new school on Jan. 4, when they are scheduled to return from winter vacation. However, after last Saturday’s dedication ceremony for the new school was postponed to an undetermined date, the question arose whether the school would be ready on time for students.

The steering committee will meet Monday afternoon to make that determination and, in the case the school cannot open, to devise a plan for students after their break.