By Jarret Liotta
A shortage of space at Bedford Middle School (BMS) has some parents demanding immediate action, but the Board of Education said tonight it wanted more firm data before making decisions on next steps, including purchasing portable classrooms.
A hallway sign at Staples High School welcomes Coleytown Midde School students. (CLICK TO ENLARGE). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
Several parents stated that frustrations were on the rise among parents whose children are currently attending BMS.
The school has taken in about 300 students from Coleytown Middle School (CMS) in grades six and seven for at least the next month because of air quality issues at CMS.
“People are getting really upset,” said Dorie Hordon, PTA co-president at BMS.
“It’s coming in emails, on the soccer field … and what we’re hearing tonight really isn’t helpful,” she told the board, noting “big levels of frustration.”
“You need to get moving on this and stop wasting time,” said Lee Goldstein, PTA co-president at CMS, calling the school board’s timeline “incomprehensible.”
“Every single week there’s water incursion and every single week there’s a short-term fix,” she said.
Parent Melissa Liguori described anxiety experienced by BMS students rushing to get to classes, which for the eighth graders have been moved around to various parts of the building.
She also noted that some gym classes have been held in the hallways.
“I think we are compromising our kids’ education,” she said, adding that many of them are treating it “like one big party.”
“I’m very concerned,” she said.
“The current situation is not sustainable,” said Michele Carey-Moody, citing traffic problems, youngsters not having access to lockers, and “not an ounce of free space to be found” in the building.
She said teachers are sitting on the floor in the halls grading papers, and urged the school board to bring in portable classrooms immediately.
Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer acknowledged that it was a difficult situation, including some teachers having to race between Staples High School, where CMS eighth graders are housed, and BMS, in order to teach different grade levels.
“We’re looking at possible refinements,” she said, and exploring options like renting lockers and possibly four new portable classrooms.
These, however, she said could not be installed before December, and it was prudent to wait for the consultants’ recommendations before making that costly commitment.
Two outside consultants — Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson Architects, and Turner Building Science & Design — have been engaged to examine the problems at CMS, said Elio Longo, chief financial officer for the schools.
They will be sharing information, but ultimately presenting two sets of recommendations, the first by Turner in two to three weeks, the second by KGD in three to four weeks.
“The administration and the Board of Education will be given several options to consider,” Longo said.
These could include everything from closing the school indefinitely to employing remediation methods to get it through the 2018-19 school year.
“What the two companies have reported since their initial visit (is) water infiltration around the building,” he said, which appears to be accounting for ongoing air-quality issues.
Palmer said that, due to overlap, Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine would possibly be hired on later to provide scientific insight into the data gathered and to give “kind of an independent review to (show) we haven’t missed anything.”
They would, in turn, require up to eight weeks from now to present their findings. Consequently, she said, it was probable that the CMS students would remain at BMS and Staples through Thanksgiving weekend.
The board will have to vote to extend their stays at the respective schools at its next meeting.
“I think triangulating the data … would give us a greater level of confidence that we can reopen the building,” Palmer said of using the different consultants.
She said Mark Cooper, health director of the Westport-Weston Health District, had volunteered to serve as the final word in synthesizing the data.
“He said that he felt comfortable working with us to help make that determination,” she said.
Board members applauded the work of school administrators, but acknowledged the frustrations of parents.
“I understand the frustration and I feel it’s totally appropriate to express that,” said member Candice Savin.
“But I hope you know in your hearts that we’ve been working very hard to do what’s right and best for the kids,” she said.
“I don’t think we’re ready to make any call yet,” she said, echoing feelings shared by other board members.
“Let’s get a real solution,” said parent Emil Albanese. “Let’s get a real long-term solution, not another Band-Aid.”
“Everybody’s thanking each other,” he said, “and telling each other what a great job they did, but the kids are still disrupted.”
