School Committee views Hathaway maintenance needs

By John McDaid | Tuesday, 20 November 2007
07Nov20 Hathaway Tour
L-R Lusi, Buddemeyer, Martin, Cortvriend, Heaney, West (behind) Wedge, Davidson.

Members of the Portsmouth School Committee and administration toured the Hathaway School tonight to review the maintenance and infrastructure needs, and also to get some history and perspective from principal Dr. Christina Martin. School Committee Chair Sylvia Wedge was joined by members Michael Buddemeyer, Terri Cortvriend and Jamie Heaney, as well as Town Council member Bill West. On hand from the administration were Superintendent Sue Lusi and Facilities Supervisor Don Davidson, who are conducting tours of all the PSD buildings for the Committee.

While much of the physical plant is in remarkably good shape — given that, as Dr. Martin explained, the original building dates from 1954, with additions in 1968 and a small piece done in 1999 — there are several hundred thousand dollars worth of work that needs to be done, including replacing windows, evaluating aging boilers and exhaust fans, upgrading the phone system, dealing with antique asbestos-tile flooring, and bringing the building up to current RI fire code.

While the exterior recreation area needs some new asphalt, Dr. Martin pointed out how much work the Hathaway community had contributed, with parents who had volunteered time for maintenance and an equipment shed which had been built and donated by a PHS senior as a project.

07Nov20 Hathaway Tour Lites
Jamie Heaney and Michael Buddemeyer investigate light fixtures.

And then there are little things. "Tennis balls," said Don Davidson. "Any donations would be appreciated." They use them to cushion the feet of student chairs, which saves wear and tear on flooring and reduces noise. And overhead lighting, while generally adequate, is uneven — and is supplied by florescent fixtures so old there are no longer spare parts available.

07Nov20 Hath Tour FilmstripThe age of some of the infrastructure was a recurring theme, as the tour wound through classrooms equipped with floppy-drive IBM PCs that had to date from the early 90s, and a filmstrip projector — still in active use — that could have come from a classroom out of my childhood. I expected to see it fire up and display Bert the Turtle, urging us to "Duck and Cover."

The old-school intercoms, mounted high on the wall and providing the sole method of communication from the office to the classrooms were delightfully archaic. (And vaguely troubling, like, what would you do if you wanted to get a message out to the whole school but didn't want to spook the kids? I know, I know, that's one of the things that Network Admin Jim Peluso is going to address by bringing the school onto a VOIP system and putting digital phones in each classroom, but that's at least a couple years off.)

Hathaway ClockBut for awesome steampunk elegance, the hands-down winner in the antique category was an original clock, embedded into the wall of one of the classrooms, that operated the class time bells with a series of cams and electromechanical relays. It literally looked like something Sherlock Holmes would have been proud to have in his flat as the epitome of hip Victorian technology.

Amazing. Just amazing. And this was just one school. We need those building warrants this year, and we need them bad.

Disclosure: Okay, so I chose the Hathaway tour because Jack is a student there. That doesn't mean I don't care about the other buildings, some of which, given what I heard on the tour, have maintenance issues equal or greater than Hathaway. This was just close to home, and there are a limited number of days I can get out of work early to do stuff like this.

Tags: 
Localblogging, 02871, Facilities Committee

Comments

mrflood

Wed, 11/21/2007 - 2:46pm

It would be wise to have an outside contractor come up with the numbers for repairs to any of the school buildings. Two years ago the school department tried to close the Prudence Island School because they said that it needed $70,000 in repairs. Prudence Islanders did the necessary repairs for under $5k, forcing the School Department to make up yet another reason to close the school. The 2nd reason was that it cost $200,000 per year to operate the school. After a group of PIslanders looked at the budget ourselves, the School Dept. conceeded that the actual cost was around $70k per year. Where do they get there numbers from?

I was suprised to hear that Hathaway and the other schols are in tough shape. I always thought that Prudence Islanders were the only Portsmouth residents asked to help hold our school together. On the one hand, its nice to hear about the other communities within Portsmouth taking care of their area schools. But on the other hand..... What does the school department do with all those millions in tax money? 33.4 million and the buildings don't even meet fire codes?

Lije

Wed, 11/21/2007 - 4:16pm

I'm not going to defend the school department regarding its budget (i.e. "What does the school department do with all those millions in tax money") because that's their job and I don't know enough of the details.

But, I do know enough details to address a couple of your remarks that seem to be in error. I'll take them in order.

First, the statement, "they said that it needed $70,000 in repairs. Prudence Islanders did the necessary repairs for under $5k."

Soooo... How much money did the PI folks charge for the labor? We all know the answer -- Nothing. As a Portsmouth taxpayer, I say "thanks!"

But, that's not what a bonded and insured general contractor, subject to the state open bid contract system, would provide as an estimate for the job. To have a general contractor deal with the labor costs and logistics of repairs to the PI school doesn't surprise me to run near $70k. Heck, I spent $10k to finish off an interior room, and I live on the "mainland." I bet if you nice kind PI folks came out to my house and did the labor for free, I could have gotten off with just the materials expenses -- about $2k.

So here's my point: By making the statement that PI folks did it for 5k you are implying that the school department is lying and are just making up excuses to close the school. They didn't lie. You all just did the job for free. Again, thanks. But, it's hardly fair to accuse the school department of wrongdoing for basing their budget upon the premise that they would have to pay the going rate for construction work.

Second, your statement, "that it cost $200,000 per year to operate the school. After a group of PIslanders looked at the budget ourselves, the School Dept. conceeded that the actual cost was around $70k per year."

The school department was right that it cost about $200k to operate the school including the cost of personnel and facilities. But, the school department never said it would SAVE $200k by closing the school. After all, the kids have to go somewhere. With the alternative cost of ferrying the kids and a ferry monitor for the little ones and Bristol tuition and what-not accounted for, the SAVINGS was around $70k.

So again, you seem to be implying the school department is lying, but the school department never "conceded" the cost was only $70k. Rather, they conceded the savings were $70k.

Finally, the statement, "33.4 million and the buildings don't even meet fire codes?"

Again, your statement seems to imply that you think the school department is doing bad things with their budget, such as not keeping the buildings up to fire code.

Point of fact: It is a matter of public record that every Portsmouth public school building has met all fire codes and have been maintained to continue to meet all fire codes since the day each one of them was built and continuing up through 2003. In 2003, the General Assembly passed onerous new fire codes as a knee-jerk reaction to the tragedy of The Station nightclub fire. So, it has only been three years since the new fire codes were enacted, and the town and school department have been diligently determining how to comply and according to what appropriate schedule. There are now municipal bonds in the works to pay for the building upgrades made necessary by the new fire codes.

We could debate at length whether the new fire codes make any sense. I think they go too far and are not necessary. The Station fire wouldn't have happened if EXISTING fire codes had been enforced. Moreover, the schools are not hosting events where people drink liquor and rock bands light off pyrotechnics. Applying these reactionary fire codes to the schools is ridiculous. But, that's not my point.

My point is that, again, your statement implies the schools are doing something wrong, like squandering money that should have been spent on fire code compliance, whereas the truth is that the school department has always properly kept the buildings in fire code compliance and a plan is now in place to bring them up to the new codes.

If you have criticism of the school department, that's fine. But criticisms really should be based on facts, and what you've presented above are statements that don't comport with the facts.

John McDaid

Wed, 11/21/2007 - 5:27pm

Hi, Lije...
I was literally going back through my notes to try to put this kind of response together when I saw that you had already posted it. Thank you very much.

I will just add one point. I was very careful in my post to lead with the fact that Hathaway was in remarkably good shape, so I don't know where mrflood is coming up with the "tough shape" characterization. As I said, the basic physical plant is solid and has every appearance of being properly maintained (and yes, mrflood, that's where some of your tax money goes). The things which were identified are exactly the parts of a building which wear out: windows, floor tiles, HVAC equipment which is forty years old. And computers, which really ought to be updated at least every 3-4 years (in the corporate sector, we refresh on a two year schedule, but I think you can double that for schools as long as you avoid the nightmare that is Windows Vista®.)

And if mrflood has not heard the cries of pain from local businesses forced to comply with the updated fire codes, he or she hasn't been listening to the ongoing civic conversation. There are small businesses that are looking at $50K.

So, yes, even without a spreadsheet and an engineering degree, I can see a couple hundred thousand dolllars in costs there. And it is insulting to our school department and our town to imply that they would not be put out to bid in an appropriate fashion. I've tried to be supportive of the PI school, but this kind of rhetoric does not help your case.

Cheers.
-j

mrflood

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 7:08pm

Easy there Lije and Jim. I was just expressing a few opinions. Isn't that what a blog is for? Opinions. I didn't realize I was spewing rhetoric. I think you are over analyzing my post.

The whole point of me making a comment in the first place was to recognize that all of the schools in Portsmouth are in need. I always pictured the kids in Hathaway with wireless laptops on their desks in a climate controlled high tech facility etc... While the kids of PI sat in their quaint 1 room schoolhouse using quills and ink wells. I guess reading Jim's post about the school tour made me feel more connected to the rest of Portsmouth. Especially when I realized that HS students donated a storage shed and people were asked to donate tennis balls for the bottoms of chairs.

FACT: I don't know the first thing about the new fire codes.
OPINION: Jim's post said that the schools did not meet fire codes. That concerned me.

OPINION: the school department wishes to close the PI school no matter what.

FACT: It was the press, not necessarily the school department that implied repeatedly that closing the school would save up to 200k.

from Lije's post:
"the school department never "conceded" the cost was only $70k. Rather, they conceded the savings were $70k."
You are correct. However; we had to chisel away at that number to get it down to 70k. The school department fought for every penny.

Also, let me just say that I recognize the difficult situation that the school department is in after having their budget slashed at the tent meeting. I re-read my post and saw that I might be confused with a certain group that I do not wish to be associated with. The name is mrflood, not mrfitzmorris.

I get bent out of shape when it comes to the school department because we (PIslanders) have to fight every year to keep the PI school open. I don't want to have to move when my daughter becomes of school age and is faced with the possibility of a 2 hour daily commute to kindergarten.

John McDaid

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 7:57pm

Hi, mrflood...
Sorry if it seemed like an overly harsh response. Yes, a blog is most definitely a place to share opinions, and I'm very happy to have you post your thoughts.

And thank you for re-reading your post and seeing how your concerns could appear. Yes, I'm a bit sensitive about the PCC's constant attacks on the school's fiscal management, and I'm sorry if I mistook your authentic anger at the PI situation for the purely political nonsense that Fitzmorris spouts. I share your concerns about your beautiful one-room schoolhouse, and if my son Jack were looking at a 2-hour commute, I would be sitting at the School Committee meetings just like you guys are doing.

And you know, if we had enough money in the school budget, we wouldn't be having this argument. We all want to give our kids the best education we can, and I don't believe anyone on the school committee or the administration wants to put kids on a boat at 6 am. We're really on the same side. But this discussion has been hijacked by the tax rebels of the PCC, who attack the budget every year and push them to cut, cut, cut and then shed crocodile tears over closing the PI school. And even bigger forces are at work as well, with the Paiva-Weed tax cap and a state budget which has used tax cuts for the wealthy to shift a higher percentage of responsibility for education funding to towns. See Tom Sgouros's excellent article from the RI Policy Reporter. Why don't we have *him* as a columnist in the Sakonnet Times instead of that archaic hack Violet?

Let's work together to fight the real enemies.

Cheers.
-j

p.s. Just a minor clarification about opinion. I have to agree with what Lije says; my take is that blogs are a place for opinions, yes, but supported by fact. Like hypotheses in science. The thing that makes blogs different than letters to the editor or standing up at a podium is that on the Internet, access to the facts can be a click away. Blogs are situated in that space, and they need to acknowlege and respect it. Or put another way, that they are a place where we can relate facts in an authentic narrative, not the attempted "neutrality" of the mainstream press. But for me, just opinion isn't particularly helpful. It's more about assembling some facts and providing a context. At least that's what I try to do.

Lije

Thu, 11/22/2007 - 9:51pm

Dear mrflood:

You are spot on with your statement, "I think you are over analyzing my post."

Yes, quite likely. I admit that I generally parse and analyze people's words much more closely than the people who speak those words intend them. In my day job, one of my obligations is to carefully parse and analyze contracts and other legal documents. But, I recognize that applying the same close analysis to common spoken (or blogged) language is basically just inappropriate. It's a spill-over bad habit and a failing of mine. My sincere apologies.

I'll also echo John McDaid's response above in that I share his sensitivity over the PCC's constant attacks on nearly everything, especially the schools. So, I did confuse you with a certain group that you do not wish to be associated with. For that, I'm sorry. I'm glad to know that you and I can both be "concerned citizens" without being "Concerned Citizens", if you know what I mean.

I'm also very glad that you are concerned about Portsmouth's schools. Frankly, far too few people, including parents of kids in the schools, are engaged in Portsmouth's municipal matters. If more people followed the town council and school committee meetings and spoke their piece at those meetings, we'd have a better town government. No doubt about it.

The Next Big Thing is going to be the teachers' contract which is due to be negotiated this year. Stay tuned...