Trustees press administration on floors, rodents and broken cafeteria benches at several schools

Trustees pressed district staff Wednesday about several facilities and maintenance concerns, including a buckled floor at Pennington that has displaced students, repeated rodent sightings at multiple sites and broken cafeteria benches, and asked for clearer records and faster remediation.

A trustee cited photos and in-person visits showing the Pennington classroom floor has been buckled for more than two months and asked for timelines and cost estimates. District staff said materials for repairs have been delivered and that the committee report describes progress; principals and custodians were asked to provide surveys of damaged cafeteria benches so the district can order replacements or reallocate resources as buildings are closed.

Trustees also reported mouse and rat activity at Graham, Parker and Williams. Administration said the district has a contracted exterminator that visits on a biweekly schedule and maintains logs; custodians can request additional targeted visits for recurring issues and the contractor provides treatment and invoices that are logged for each building.

Trustees asked for a schedule to confirm the most recent exterminator visits for the highest-risk buildings and requested a follow-up facilities committee meeting to review outstanding maintenance items. Administration said it will reschedule the facilities committee meeting for the next week and provide documentation of service logs and inventory plans for transferring usable furniture and fixtures from buildings slated for closure.

Trustees emphasized that inventorying items in closing schools should be used to supply receiving schools to avoid unnecessary purchases.