Like a ghoul that refuses to stay in its grave, the problem of the elementary school’s kindergarten wing rises up every few years to stalk successive School Committees. At Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Linda Dwight alerted the current committee that it’s their turn to deal with the K-wing and its issues of leaks, mold, damp, and poor ventilation.
Report reveals widespread damage
A report from Blackstone Block Architects, dated October 5, details extensive structural problems with the K-wing, which was built in the mid-1950s. Dwight read a passage from the report citing widespread water infiltration that had damaged the roof, ceilings, gutters, flashing, and the wood structure itself. The leaks worsen the problems with mold that have plagued the building for decades, she said.
The report included an estimate of $495,000 to demolish the wing and $4.6 million for new construction to replace it. The School Committee approved submitting a request for the money to the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, with the caveat that it was only a draft version, meant to alert CPIC to the issue.
Finance Director Lorraine Leonard pointed out that the K-wing’s problems pose a safety issue. As such, the rebuilding project would clearly qualify for aid from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which would provide at least 30 percent of the cost. “We would bump right up to the top of the list,” Leonard said.
Problems go back for decades
From the 1990s through the first years of this century, mold in the walls, wet carpets, leaky ceilings, and poor air quality in the K-wing provoked a years-long battle among the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and the Board of Health. In April 2005 the Board of Health threatened to close the school unless the problems were remedied.
That crisis was resolved when the School Committee and the Board of Health agreed to a memo of understanding (MOU) that provided criteria for remedying the problems and allowed the building to remain in use for at least 10 more years. A key term in the agreement was that the mold, which could not be eradicated, was to be sealed within the walls.
However, the terms of that agreement limit what can be done to deal with problems in the building today. For example, Dwight described the building’s bathrooms as “horrible,” with a smell evident even in the hallways. But it is impossible to renovate the bathrooms, Dwight explained, because such work would penetrate the walls and release the hazardous mold that was sealed there in compliance with the 2005 MOU.
