By Jarret Liotta
The director of school facilities Tuesday night gave his thumbs-up to a recently completed Master Plan Facilities Study report but could not account for why so many existing school maintenance issues were not previously reported.
Ted Hunyadi, director of facilities, talks to the Board of Education Tuesday night about building maintenance. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
“I think they did a good job,” Ted Hunyadi told the Board of Education (BOE) in regard to an 869-page report prepared by consultant Antinozzi Associates.
The BOE received it at its Oct. 7, where it was discussed briefly, but has not yet made it public.
According to Michael LoSasso, an architect with the firm, the town’s seven schools, excluding Coleytown Middle School (CMS), have around $96 million in repairs they will need over the next 10 years, with that number adjusted for inflation.
CMS itself is currently undergoing a yearlong $32 million restoration project after being closed for mold and related moisture-damage issues.
Superintendent of Schools David Abbey said he hoped the report would be made public at some point on Wednesday on the Westport School District’s website, but a question remained as to whether it needed to have certain details censored for security reasons.
“I’m still concerned,” newly elected BOE member Lee Goldstein said about facility maintenance.
“Some part of the maintenance isn’t working,” she said, noting the continuing prevalence of water-damaged ceiling tiles at some schools, along with rusty and unpainted window frames.
“There’s a disconnect … There are problems here,” she said. “The refurbishing part shouldn’t have languished like this.”
“I don’t have a clear answer for that right now,” Hunyadi said.
He attributed it, in part, to people in those school buildings not reporting areas that require maintenance.
“They walk by it, so to speak,” he said.
“The district has spent its money wisely in the maintenance of its facilities,” Hunyadi said, indicating some funding for refurbishment has been curtailed in recent years.
Yet asked directly if the maintenance problem was due to a lack of money, he said it was not.
“I’ll have to look at that more and see how we can improve in that area,” he said.
Hunyadi said he had already been aware of 50 or 75% of the items listed in the report.
“They delved deeper,” he said, noting he would be digesting its content “one bite at a time.”
BOE member Karen Kleine defended the district’s maintenance work, citing the limited amount of funds available.
“There were cosmetic things in the report,” she said.
“If there’s dents or there’s paint missing, that doesn’t concern me,” she said, versus direct instructional costs.
“I think we’re putting the money in the right place,” Kleine said.
Elio Longo, chief financial officer, noted that each school’s head custodian has been asked to start keep a log of maintenance issues in their buildings.
“We’ve initiated room inspections twice a week,” Hunyadi said, wherein the head custodians have been asked to look for signs of mold.
BOE member Vik Muktavaram inquired about the possibility of delegating some of the maintenance authority over to the town.
“That’s what we did with CMS and that seemed to work,” he said.
“We’ve begun preliminary discussions that are going to be expanded,” Abbey said, with regard to a meeting with First Selectman Jim Marpe about capital project planning.
He said, however, he felt it was paramount for them to keep operating maintenance control of the school facilities.
He said he had had a discussion with former Westport Superintendent of School Elliott Landon at some point, wherein Landon had for a period outsourced school maintenance for Westport and not been happy with the results.
“The ability to call Ted at two in the morning because there’s an issue in a school … is very important,” Abbey said.
