SOUTH DEERFIELD — Frontier Regional School’s North Main Street building has a leaky roof and school officials are investigating repair options.
At Wednesday night’s School Committee meeting, Director of Facilities Robert Lesko said the leaks are primarily located around a large, 12,000-square-foot, sloped structure built in the 1980s, which sits on the school’s roof facing the main entrance.
Lesko noted deteriorating galvanized finish on the structure’s north and south sides, an aesthetic issue, and brittle flashing around its base. As to its purpose, the structure houses a large heating and cooling system. It also contains a skylight for the school’s media center, where Lesko said staff members utilize a “bucket brigade” to catch leaks.
Recently, Lesko consulted a few experts, including an architect, who estimated repair costs for the project. Preliminarily, projected costs range between $31,600 and $182,150. It doesn’t qualify for Massachusetts School Building Authority’s grant program, which funds half of qualifying projects over a $250,000 threshold.
Of that estimated range, between $750 and $54,000 is estimated for caulk, paint, sealant and finish purposes; $6,350 to $11,650 to remove, clean, and reset the windows; $2,500 to $12,000 for a vapor barrier; and between $5,000 and $75,000 to build a plywood deck enclosing the heating and cooling system, for safety reasons.
Other safety problems include insulation that’s been applied on top of the media center’s suspended acoustical ceiling and a plastic bucket that’s attached 30-feet up a wall inside to catch rainwater.
In conjunction with the needed repair work, Lesko said the project would provide a good opportunity for upgrades and maintenance, such as replacing the media center’s carpeting, ceiling and cleaning out the heating and air conditioning unit.
“If we’re going to be working up there, might as well do some maintenance and spend money on the HVAC system, because it’s difficult to get there,” Lesko noted.
At last month’s meeting, the committee voted to give Lesko permission to spend up to $15,000 to get exact cost estimates for the project.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Lesko said he would get the estimates as soon as possible, acknowledging a desire by School Committee members to move the project forward in time for town meeting season.
Over the last several years, other school buildings in the district, including Whately and Deerfield Elementary Schools and Conway Grammar School, have undergone roof repair projects.