Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Facilities subcommittee: middle‑school roof approved; security and energy issues noted
Summary
At the Sept. 8 meeting the facilities subcommittee reported MSBA approval of a new middle‑school roof estimated at about $6.5–$6.8 million and listed multiple maintenance projects, lighting work and security concerns about lights and open windows at school buildings.
Mister Schwartz, chair of the facilities subcommittee, reported on work approved and in progress across the district’s school buildings at the Sept. 8 Gardner School Committee meeting.
Schwartz said the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has approved a new roof for the middle school with an estimated cost of roughly $6.5 million to $6.8 million. “It’s unbelievable of what a new roof costs today,” he said.
He listed completed and ongoing projects: replacement of the main communication switchboard on July 5; HVAC upgrades and miscellaneous electrical work; painting and carpeting replacements in multiple classrooms; installation of VCT (vinyl composition tile) in several corridors; five drinking‑fountain bottle‑fill stations installed and more planned; disassembly and reassembly of a walk‑in freezer from Elm Street School to the middle‑school receiving area; and pending installation of a kitchen exhaust fan that arrived in late August.
Schwartz raised day‑to‑day security and utility concerns observed during recent facility walkthroughs: lights left on in multiple buildings at times when rooms appeared unoccupied; first‑floor windows in an academic wing (identified in the report as Room 109) that open and could present an entry risk; and lower kitchen and locker‑room windows left open at the high school. He said grounds foliage around Elm Street School will be trimmed later in the fall and that some corridor and gym marks dated to summer‑school activities remain.
Schwartz also said the district expects to bid a phase‑3 auditorium lighting project once drawings are complete; he suggested a completion window of about December 2026.
Why it matters: The report documents both large capital work (roof) that will require MSBA coordination and multiple smaller projects and safety issues that affect daily operations and security at school buildings.
No formal committee votes on the facilities items were recorded in the public meeting minutes; the subcommittee gave its report and adjourned.
