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Facilities director reports 100% AHERA compliance and outlines Burncoat High replacement process

Worcester Public Schools Operations and Governance Subcommittee · May 4, 2026
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Summary

Facilities reported quarter‑3 operations, including vacancies, a major boiler replacement, masonry and fencing repairs, and a Department of Labor‑confirmed 100% AHERA compliance; the Burncoat High School replacement design team was selected and an educational vision process will begin.

Worcester — The district’s facilities department told the subcommittee on May 4 that work to maintain and upgrade school buildings is proceeding and that the district has achieved AHERA compliance.

Richard Eichenan, the district’s director of facilities, briefed the committee on staffing and recent projects and said the Worcester Public Schools "achieved 100% AHERA compliance as confirmed by the Department of Labor on 04/08/2026." He attributed the milestone to coordinated work led by the district’s environmental health and safety coordinator.

Eichenan said the department currently has seven open trade positions and is actively recruiting (interviews are in progress and three candidates were in onboarding). He summarized completed and ongoing projects: a full boiler replacement at Burncoat Prep, masonry repairs at Vernon Hill, fence and gate installations at multiple sites, repairs at Fanning after a water‑pipe break and a multiyear window replacement project at Worcester East Middle School that continues into the summer. Through the third quarter the department logged 1,379 work orders, completed 1,092 and left 287 open; Eichenan said the department expects that number to decline as staff and contractors are added.

On capital projects, the district selected a design firm for the Burncoat High School replacement and will begin an educational‑vision and feasibility phase that could take up to two years. A first school building meeting is scheduled for May 6, 2026, to begin community engagement on the project.

Members thanked staff for the detail and asked clarifying questions about accessibility upgrades, the Jacob Hyatt campus entrance and the Forest Grove parking area; administration said Forest Grove is on a list of sites for future work. The committee voted to receive the quarter‑3 facilities report and file it.