By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The School Department will ask the town for a new roof at the Greenwood School next year, an item that comes with a $650,000 price tag. The School Committee last night reviewed the FY 2020 list of capital requests and discussed the list with top school administrators. Fiscal Year 2020 begins on July 1, 2019.
Director of Facilities and Transportation Maria Serrao presented a tiered list of capital priorities, with Tier 1 items deemed “critical” priorities. Tier 2 items were called critical but lower priority. Tier 3 requests were identified as longer-term needs.
The Greenwood School roof appeared among the Tier 1, “critical” capital needs.
Serrao said that the roof replacement has been on the town’s 15-year capital plan but the situation has reached the critical stage and the School Department would like to have it put on the town’s list for FY 2020. Serrao said that the condition has become dire in the past year with repeated active leaks that have forced the relocation of teachers and services and disrupted teaching and learning.
School Business Administrator Michael Pfifferling said given the amount needed to replace the roof would be a sizable chunk of the town’s overall capital budget, the $650,000 may have to be a separate warrant article at the spring Annual Town Meeting. Pfifferling added that while the issues with the roof have long been known, active leaks only became a real problem in the past year and have become a real disruption. It’s now to the point where patching is ongoing, he said.
School Committee member Anne-Marie Fortier, a resident of Greenwood Avenue, reinforced the fact that the roof issue has “reached the critical stage. It’s no longer a nice-to-have,” she said. “It’s a must-have.”
Christopher Callanan, who chaired last night’s meeting in the absence of chairman Thomas Markham, emphasized the need for school officials and School Committee members to engage with the Capital Planning Committee and the Finance Committee to stress the Greenwood School roof-replacement as a critical need.
Another Tier 1 need highlighted by Serrao were rehab/repairs to the walk-in freezers and refrigerators in the Food Services Department at the high school. Serrao said that those units are old and failing and are constantly in need of repair. She stressed that the Food Services Department not only prepares meals for the high school but also meals that are sent out to the other schools in the district. She stressed that dealing with these aging units is a “constant battle,” and food safety and the cost of food discarded when a unit fails were factors that needed to be considered.
The amount requested to address the walk-in refrigeration and freezer units was $120,000.
Other items that appear on the School Department’s Tier 1 list of capital requests include:
Sprinkler System ($80,000) and fire alarm upgrade ($26,000) at the Doyle School.$13,500 for a PA system upgrade and $40,000 for a new playground surface at the Dolbeare School.Replacement of student bathroom fixtures ($5,000) and ADA compliant playground structures and surface ($75,000) at the Woodville.Galvin Middle School: $75,000 for PA system replacement; $14,000 for Plumbing/Sink Faucet Controls and $20,000 for recommissioning and five-year recalibration and balancing of mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment.$150,000 for assessment and fix for the HVAC system at the high school.$125,000 for a professional consultant to help create a “Facilities Master Plan” for the School Department.Activity van ($50,000) and Synovia Software for tracking the 12-vehicle Wakefield Public Schools fleet ($20,000).Replacement of 12 projectors system wide for a total of $15,000.The total amount of Tier 1 School Department capital requests for FY 2020 is $828,500 (not including the Greenwood School roof).
It was noted last night that the town’s FY 2020 capital process is in its earliest stages and the School Department request will be scrutinized by the Capital Planning Committee and the Finance Committee before a final recommended list goes to Town Meeting next May.
School Superintendent Douglas Lyons talked about an item that was listed under the heading “DPW Town Wide,” namely a girls’ softball field at Wakefield Memorial High School. He pointed out that the girls’ varsity fast-pitch softball team plays its games at Veterans Field, which is designed for men’s slow-pitch softball.
In terms of other needs at the high school, Lyons noted that the final report from the latest accreditation review is due this week. He said that the unofficial preliminary word is that the high school’s accreditation is in jeopardy and will likely be downgraded from “warning” to “probation” status. That, Lyons said, means that the condition of the facility is impacting teaching and learning.
Lyons noted that the Massachusetts School Building Authority has requested the accreditation report as soon as it is available. The MSBA is currently evaluating Wakefield’s Statement of Interest seeking state financial assistance with renovation or replacement of the high school.
The School Committee unanimously endorsed the FY 2020 Capital Request list.
