In the coming weeks West Tisbury school leaders and town officials will meet to tackle a growing problem with unanticipated repairs to the West Tisbury elementary school whose price tag has now climbed to nearly $1.2 million.
And there is no clear plan yet about who will pay for it — the school district, the town, or some combination of the two.
At a meeting of the Up-Island Regional School District committee this week, Martha’s Vineyard Public School business administrator Amy Tierney announced that the West Tisbury School now needs more than $1 million worth of repairs.
Earlier this year the school district had set aside $250,000 to pay for window repairs after problems were discovered that were tracked to possible poor quality construction work. But a recently completed feasibility study has revealed far more widespread problems in the building that include the roof, walls and interior ventilation system.
Ms. Tierney said this week that a current $1.175 million estimated price tag does not include architectural, engineering or permitting fees.
“This has been like watching fungus,” up-Island school district committee chairman Dan Cabot said on Monday. “Every time we talk about it, it gets worse.”
Reached by telephone on Thursday Vineyard schools superintendant Dr. James H. Weiss confirmed that the problem had grown far beyond what was originally thought.
“We knew there were issues with the windows, the heating and the ventilators, and possibly with the roof flashings,” he said. “But what we’ve found out is that the windows, the vents and the walls around them as well as parts of the roof and the gutters are all in need of repair. It’s much more expensive than originally anticipated.”
Mr. Weiss said the newly discovered problems do not represent a safety concern for the students in the school, and he said no one party is to blame for the problems. Instead, Mr. Weiss said, piecemeal renovations and additions to the building that occurred over three decades were often carried out without an appreciation of the building as a whole.
“The problem areas are where some of pieces came together, such as the windows, which may not have been the right kind of windows for a wood-framed building,” he said. “But it’s really not a matter of whose fault it is. At the time the architects didn’t know that it would be a problem.”
The obvious next question is who will pay for the repairs, and how.
Mr. Weiss said that is unclear at this point.
The Up-Island school district leases the school building from the town of West Tisbury. Responsibility for the repairs could fall to the town, the school district or perhaps some combination of the two, Mr. Weiss said. He said meetings will be scheduled in the coming weeks to discuss the problem and decide how to proceed.
Mr. Weiss said money for the repairs could be borrowed through a bond issue, or a bond anticipation note, an option available to municipalities.
However it is paid for, Mr. Weiss said he expects the repairs to take place over the summer months when school is not in session.
On Wednesday, West Tisbury selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter, who is also a school committee member, was uncertain about the next step but sounded a note of resolution.
“All I know is we need to fix it,” Mr. Manter said.
This article appears in December 17, 2010.
Mr. Weiss how can you say? “it’s really not a matter of whose fault it is. At the time the architects didn’t know that it would be a problem.”
It is very simply a matter of who’s to blame. Look at any other engineering failure around the world. The Big Dig, the New Orleans levees or the recent Airbus engine malfunction. This is not a problem for West Tisbury Tax payers or the school district as a whole. The architects, engineers and builders who spent years in school supposedly learning sound building methods need to be held responsible. I imagine they carry insurance for this sort of thing. It is time to be proactive, not give into the idea that “well they didn’t know better”
JNB is exactly right! As a tax paying member of the West Tis community, I don’t think that floating a bond or upping taxes would be the wway to go. Architects, builders etc. do have insurance for when they mess up. Don’t let their premiums go to waste.
I pay taxes in a different town but this is another case of Vineyard insanity that needs to end. We are so close on this small island that it appears to be impossible to hold each other responsible for major mistakes. I say find a good off-island lawyer and go after everyone involved in this including those who awarded the original construction contracts. What the Vineyard needs is a good old fashioned New England witch hunt but is this case, let’s find the people who cast the spell that could ultimately cause taxpayers more pain when we’re already hurting.