A host of capital improvements to the West Tisbury School will begin over the summer, including bathroom renovations and roof work.
The up-Island school committee committed $435,000 to various projects during their regular meeting on Monday. The West Tisbury school bathrooms have been in need of an overhaul for some time; at a committee meeting last fall, members noted that they were nearly 20 years old and due for renovation. The eight bathrooms in the building will become nine during the project, with the addition of an extra adult bathroom. Among other fixes, new sinks will be installed and walls will be reinforced.
The bathroom project is estimated to cost approximately $389,000, school principal Donna Lowell-Bettencourt said. The committee added $25,000 during their meeting to cover the cost of hiring a project manager, for a total of $414,000.
The total cost for capital improvements, including insurance claim deductibles and a new heating control system, is approximately $500,000. The money beyond the $435,000 allocated by the school committee is expected to come out of the district’s operating budget or the excess and deficiency account.
Schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said the goal was to do the capital work with resources already available, without having to go to the three up-Island towns for additional funding.
“Our hope is to not have to ask the towns for more money,” he said.
The committee also heard a presentation from South Mountain Company representative Marc Rosenbaum regarding an overhaul of the heating system at the Chilmark School. Mr. Rosenbaum previously lived in New Hampshire, where he worked on a successful effort to energy-retrofit a school building for better efficiency and comfort.
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