The Plympton School Committee heard Sept. 14 that the Dennett Elementary School’s flat rubber roof is failing above classrooms and that the chiller in its 23- to 25-year-old air conditioning system is at or near the end of its life. Replacing the roof alone was estimated in the low millions of dollars, and a committee member said the school cannot cover costs of that kind from its operating budget.
The building report came in the school update listed on the agenda under Principal Peter Veneto. According to the update, the roof above several learning spaces has been patched over the years with moderate success. The school’s insurer paid for damage to rugs, books, ceiling tiles and walls during the last school year, but the insurer is not responsible for the roof itself. Custodial staff have traced and sealed as many leaks as they could on the older flat section, which the update described as still a bandage. After more than three inches of rain over the weekend, staff found two very small new drips.
When member Jason Fraser asked what a repair would cost, the answer was that repair is no longer the question. “At this point, it’s less about repairing and more about replacing,” Ross MacPherson said, estimating that a flat roof of that size would cost in the low millions of dollars. The district expects to seek state reimbursement. It is completing a building study first so the project can qualify for a higher reimbursement percentage.
The air conditioning is in similar condition. The chiller component of the HVAC system broke down repeatedly over the summer despite repairs. The building was designed to be air-conditioned, and the update warned that without it the school risks mold and moisture. Two HVAC contractors are searching for components that will work with the 23- to 25-year-old system and have had major difficulty finding them. In the meantime, staff open the windows each morning and run fans through the day.
The update also described a water problem from the spring. A rotted butterfly valve in the sprinkler system had been losing thousands of gallons of water a day. Since the repair, use is back to the normal 800 to 1,000 gallons per day. Water pressure had also fallen to 5 gallons per minute, below the roughly 15 needed for treatment chemicals to mix properly. Crews recharged the bladder system in the holding tanks and cleared a sediment-packed inlet from the wellhead, which restored the flow.
Fraser then laid out the money available. The member thanked the principal and the finance director for assembling documents the state required, which allowed the town to submit for an earmark reimbursing HVAC work done over roughly the past 18 months. He said that reimbursement has been received.
The district also expects $15,000 from a state earmark for emergency roof repairs, an amount Fraser acknowledged “doesn’t go very far.” Town Meeting appropriated $35,000 for a building envelope study, and a separate $35,000 state earmark covers the same work. The plan is to spend the state money first, draw on the Town Meeting appropriation only as needed, and return what is left to the town. The district also secured money for repairs to the school’s phone system.
“We do need to be cognizant of the fact that capital repairs here at the Dennett are something that we really can’t handle within our operating budget,” Fraser summarized.
He said that if a large problem arises midyear, the committee would need to bring it to the town, either at a fall or winter special town meeting or through warrant articles for the spring town meeting.
Some of the building news was better. Over the summer, custodial staff scraped eight coats of polyurethane off the gym floor by hand, down to the wood, before a contractor applied a fresh coat. A second coat is recommended this winter, after which the floor should last three to five years without annual refinishing. The school is also installing a washer and dryer, with financial help from the Food Service Department, so rags, aprons and mop heads can be laundered on site instead of sent out. The update said the equipment should pay for itself within one school year.
Superintendent Jill Proulx also asked the committee to approve the School Resource Officer agreement, described as a standard template with Plympton information filled in, and to let the chair sign on the committee’s behalf. The committee approved it on a roll call.
Assistant Superintendent Tricia Clifford’s curriculum update reported that the district has received its ESSA title grant funds and a second year of PRISM funding for the ELA curriculum. The PRISM money pays for the consultant TNTP and for educator time beyond contractual hours. This school year is year one of a new science, technology and engineering curriculum cycle and year two of ELA. Staff interested in serving on the curriculum committees were asked to respond by the 22nd.
Proulx’s Strategy for District Improvement includes expanding No Place for Hate to the elementary and intermediate schools, a new wellness curriculum with anti-bullying support for grades 7 and 8, and new literacy programs. It also includes continued work on the costs and benefits of full regionalization and responsive classroom practices in all elementary schools. When Chair Rob Montgomery asked how the district measures success, the answer was benchmark data, school climate surveys, and principal goals aligned with the plan.
Additionally, the regionalization subcommittee’s meeting with the Collins Center was canceled. A draft report is hoped for next month. The committee is also seeking a resident to fill its vacant fifth seat and appealed to anyone watching to consider joining.