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Windham committee reviews districtwide facilities needs, WHS renovation and summer capital projects
Summary
At the June 3 meeting, the Windham Board of Education School Planning & Design Committee reviewed districtwide maintenance, school-specific repairs including recurring plumbing problems, and timelines for capital projects such as a WMS track and the WHS 'renovate as new' work.
At a June 3 meeting in Willimantic, the Windham Board of Education School Planning & Design Committee reviewed a roster of maintenance and repair work across district schools and discussed timelines for several summer capital projects.
Albie Harris reported routine and targeted work: field maintenance across the district (including fresh clay for baseball and softball fields), fertilizing grass sod fields, and brushing and cleaning the WHS turf field. At WHS he said staff have replaced rooftop air filters and constructed a 12-by-12 food-service storage cage.
Harris reviewed school-specific problems: rooftop HVAC intake and exhaust repairs at Sweeney School; HVAC and recurring bathroom plumbing failures at North Windham School; a replaced library conduit unit and repairs to the main sliding gate at Natchaug School; cooling and bathroom repairs at CH Barrows STEM Academy; and exhaust-fan and heating-system repairs at Windham Middle School. Harris attributed the recurring plumbing problems to the age of the buildings.
Dr. Mary Gallucci said she was pleased with the turf-field training and suggested, "Could the students at WHS doing Video Production help produce the training videos?" Harris did not specify whether the district would pursue that student partnership but acknowledged the suggestion.
On the Windham High School "Renovate as New" project, committee members discussed building improvements listed in the project scope: mini-split installations in MDF and IDF rooms, music-room wall repairs, replacement of door frames and thresholds at four restroom entrances, and replacement of a cooling-tower coil. Mark Doyle asked who would pay for the coil; Harris said the work is covered by the construction funding allocated to the project.
Committee staff gave a schedule for capital projects: a new track and turf at Windham Middle School is on schedule (base, drainage and curbing underway); the WMS library/media center remodel has an order placed with delivery and installation expected in July; a new maintenance dump truck is due to arrive July 1; Natchaug School will begin asbestos removal in July and replace steam boilers in July and August; and a paver walkway at CH Barrows is slated for July.
The committee did not take formal votes on these items at the meeting. Members asked for and received clarifications about funding sources for specific replacements and timing for installations. The meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m., and the minutes were later approved on July 1, 2026.
