When students arrive at school they expect to enter a safe, warm and comfortable learning environment. Maintaining that environment keeps Mike Fagley and his crew hopping.
In his report to the Clarion Area School Board, Fagley, the building and grounds supervisor, provided a list of “items, which were somewhat out of the normal day-to-day maintenance of the buildings.”
There is nothing like a polar vortex to test the heating system in a school. “There have been problems with the new heat makeup air unit in the elementary kitchen,” he said. “All contractors involved have been contacted, and the work is proceeding to make the necessary repairs.”
“We have had some issues with the classrooms and the levels of heating due to the debris in the old piping for the heating being worked on to clean out the existing pipes, which were not replaced as part of the project,” he said.
A filter system in the chemical feeder for the heating water was installed to help clean out the debris in the heating system.
A leak developed in the original piping in the boiler room. Fagley said there is a plan to shut down the system “when we have better weather; when the boilers are not running.”
If the weather-related issues were not enough, other systems required attention. The camera system, vital for school security, was not completely functional.
“Work on the camera system is progressing and is very close to being completed, said Fagley. “A large portion of the cameras are operational.”
And there are problems under foot. The large group instruction room, band and choir rooms carpeting came loose.
Fagley said the flooring contractor pulled up all the carpet squares and reinstalled them.
There were problems outside the building as well. The new rooftop HVAC unit for the office was scheduled to be replaced, but had to be rescheduled due to the weather. It is now scheduled for Feb. 18, an Act 80 day.
“By doing this replacement on a day without students in the building but not on a weekend, it will save the district overtime costs,” said Fagley. “This will save the district approximately $1,500 from the contractor’s quote.
And that was just the elementary school.
At Clarion Area High School, there were “intermittent problems” with the main gym scoreboards.
“There has been quite a bit of time spent on the gym and main doors to the building, which will not shut correctly. The door pivots in the doors themselves and closers are worn out causing the doors to not work shut or latch properly,” said Fagley.
The concrete under the gym door, he said, raises in the cold weather and the door will not shut properly due to the door dragging on the threshold.
The HVAC rooftop in the library was not in operation for about a week. The rooftop fan motor become inoperable. After it was replaced, it was found that the main control board was bad and had to be replaced.
“All of these units were repaired using parts that the district keeps in inventory, and some had to be made operational by other repairs until the parts are installed to make the units work properly,” he said. “These parts have arrived and are being installed before the weather changes again.”
Over the holidays, there was a new rubber floor installed in the weight room. The funds for the materials were donated and the district personnel did the installation.
The new fire-alarm system is to be replaced Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This repair is being done due to the issue of an outdated system with no parts available for repairs,” said Fagley.
If that weren’t enough, the refrigerator in the kitchen quit working.
“There was an amount of milk, cooked foods ready to serve and produce spoiled due to the breakdown,” said Fagley.
The unit was repaired.
“We like to stay busy,” said Fagley.