by Marty Green ·
Friday, March 13, 2026
After a years-long battle with floods and mold, the Harvard Media Cooperative’s cable studio in the Bromfield School is poised to reopen, fully cleaned and renewed. The extensive repairs were covered by the town’s insurance.
“We will definitely be able to have classes in the studio again next fall,” William Hopper, the station operations manager, reported in an email. The high school media production class will use the studio regularly, as it did in the past. And the facility will also be available for special projects by other classes, such as the eighth-grade course on digital literacy and sixth-grade social studies.
Because the studio’s outside entrance is downhill from the school grounds, water has long leaked under the door after heavy rains. Patrick Vallaeys, chair of the Community Cable Access Committee, said meeting minutes show concerns about water leakage dating back more than three years. By September 2024, flooding and mold were identified as persistent problems. Then, in March 2025, water flooded into the studio’s back hallway despite sandbags along the doorsill, causing extensive mold. A month later, the studio was declared unfit for use by school classes for the coming fall.
In May 2025, as flooding continued, Vallaeys presented plans from professional drainage companies to School Superintendent Linda Dwight, who requested help from the Department of Public Works. (Earlier DPW efforts to resolve the problems with new plantings had not been sufficient to divert the water.)
Last summer, the DPW regraded the walkway leading to the studio’s outside door and added underground drainage in the area. To keep mud and leaves from blocking the drain outside the door, the slope beside the drain was covered with coarse rock. After every big rain, Vallaeys said, he took photos of the studio and found it was staying dry. In August, the Community Cable Access Committee declared the drainage issue resolved and prepared to move forward with remediation for the interior of the studio.
At first, members of the committee believed they would have to seek money from the town for the mold remediation and repairs. But then, Vallaeys said, John Tarlach, the school facilities director, suggested checking with the town insurance. The insurer, Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, did indeed agree to cover the damage done by the water leaks. And work on repairing the damage began in late October 2025, managed by ServiceMaster. Repairs were officially completed last month.
Tarlach said he and his staff, as well as the Department of Public Works, had all worked closely with ServiceMaster. “There were a lot of hands on this,” Tarlach said. “It was a good team.” In fact, Tarlach and his team did so much work that the insurance company waived the deductible amount the school district would ordinarily have been required to pay.
On a tour of the facility, Tarlach pointed out the all-new flooring throughout the studio and the two renovated restrooms nearby. He explained that the lower 4 feet of wallboard had also been replaced, to eliminate mold from moisture that had wicked upward when the floors flooded. With new electrical work and a fresh paint job, all that was lacking was the studio equipment and furnishings, which had been packed up and sent to off-site storage during the repairs.
No official date has been set for reopening the studio. However, the Community Cable Access Committee hopes to have an inaugural open house for the renovated studio in April or May.