District places greater focus on buildings

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

A multi-million dollar mold remediation headlined what was a year of investment in the Milton School buildings.

In addition to wrapping-up the $4,459,000 mold project at the elementary school, school officials invested $174,000 in security improvements for both schools, and instituted what they hope will be an annual earmark of $150,000 for major maintenance projects within the schools.

Having grappled with these issues since coming onboard in July, superintendent of schools Martin Waldron confirmed that maintaining Milton’s forty-something year-old buildings are a major priority.

“I think all of the capital planning was in the works before the mold problem; I think the mold problem just stopped everything in its tracks,” he said, “We’ve spent the fall wrapping up the mold piece and discussing what we’re going to do for the rest of our facilities that’s a little longer term and not crisis driven.”

Mold was discovered at the elementary school in August of 2006, and was quickly found to be widespread throughout the building. Major renovations and drainage work followed, with major relocation of classrooms required for much of the year. Things were mostly back to normal by 2007, though.
However, the elementary school had a moisture outbreak in August, which revived mold-related concerns. In response, the district hired a contractor in November to evaluate the problem and determine if more drainage and/or ventilation upgrades are needed. There was also a lingering leak in part of the elementary school roof, which is reportedly very close to being squared away.

In a related matter, the School Board has been moving to secure a $1.05 million state reimbursement on the project. The funding was promised earlier in the year, but getting the money was complicated by procedural irregularities and delays in submitting paperwork to the Department of Education in a timely manner. The district is seeking a waiver for those requirements and is expecting to hear positive news on that shortly.

Overall, school building and grounds supervisor Lyall Smith listed preventive maintenance as an important component of facility management, and said the district has made headway in that department since he came on board last December.

“I think the elementary school is looking really good—as it should with the amount of money that’s been put into it,” he said. The high school still has a lot of stuff we have to address, but we’ve been making some huge progress.”

Indeed, the majority of short term capital goals involve the high school. The School Board has already approved $50,000 to repair and re-seal the building envelope, with another $40,000 going toward upgrading water mains to the building.

In the long term, a new gym floor and science labs at the high school are recurring discussion items. While those needs are driven by educational factors, Smith listed effective preventive maintenance as a major focus of his work.

“It’s just catching things when they’re small issues, before they become big issues,” he said.

Having previously served as superintendent at the Essex schools for eight years, Waldron said the balancing act between educational and facility needs is by no means unique to Milton.

“We have lots of competing demands for funds and attention,” he said. “I know when I was in Essex we had a similar situation.”

“It’s not uncommon to have to delay things, the question is when you’ve delayed too much,” he continued. “I think that’s what we’re trying to assess and make sure we don’t go over that somewhat blurred line.”