By Jarret Liotta
A long-awaited facilities report will keep people waiting a little longer, as the Board of Education is not sure how much it can share because of security issues, nor how long it might take to analyze it.
A slide details projected 10-year costs—totaling $96 million—for repairs at the seven school buildings, not including Coleytown Middle School, which is undergoing a $32-million renovation project. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
But in an abbreviated presentation Monday night, Michael LoSasso, an architect with consultant Antinozzi Associates, said the town’s seven schools — barring Coleytown Middle School (CMS) — warrant around $96 million in repairs over the next 10 years.
LoSasso was quick to qualify the figure, noting that some of those repairs may have already been addressed or budgeted as part of other projects, and that the figure took into account inflation over the next 10 years, as the costs would be incurred.
“Many of them can be deferred,” he said of the work, which includes re-tiling, new ventilator units, roof repair, mechanical systems, paving, electrical systems and more.
There’s nothing that is in imminent fear of collapse,” LoSasso said.
A cost summary by school shows $32.8 million will ultimately be needed at Staples High School, more than $12 million of which is called for investment over the next two years.
Bedford Middle School has a total of just over $21 million in repairs, with Saugatuck Elementary School the next highest total at $11.4 million.
Other projected figures were $9.4 million for Greens Farms School, $8.2 million for Long Lots School, $8 million for King Highway School, and $5.4 million for Coleytown Elementary School.
Chairman Mark Mathias said the 869-page report was only given to BOE members on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m., so they hadn’t had a chance to take a real look.
“There’s some challenges in terms of who can have eyes on it,” he said of the data in the report, citing security issues.
Several members of the public expressed disappointment with the content of the report.
“We’ve been waiting for this report for a long time to get a better grasp of what may be coming down,” said Amy Kaplan, Representative Town Meeting member from District 3.
“Everyone thought Coley Middle was just fine up until they took apart the walls and saw what was happening,” she said.
“I’m not convinced there isn’t a similar situation lurking in one of these various buildings,” she said. “I’m not feeling very reassured.”
Likewise, other people said that air quality tests needed to be done on the elementary schools in particular.
“You have water leaking and we didn’t cut into walls or ceilings to see if there was mold,” said Lauren Karpf, RTM District 7, who chairs the education committee.
“I think there’s a general lack of trust in the community in terms of what’s going on in the facilities,” said parent Jen Greely.
“Does mold exist in these buildings,” she said, “and if so, I really hope you’ll engage in some air-quality testing.”
Though LoSasso did not say any air-quality tests were done — or that any tests were done to discover mold — he said his report notes places in various buildings that could be experiencing mold-related damage.
“We feel we’ve captured accurately the presence or the potential for water infiltration,” he said.
