Repair funds to be used in mold removal

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Repair funds to be used in mold removal

Baker, Register Staff January 09, 2002

HAMDEN - School renovation money will pay to remove mold at Bear Path

School, but parents say they don't want officials to shortchange

long-overdue repairs as a result.

The mold removal is expected to cost $158,000, not including the yet-unknown

cost of air tests, Superintendent of Schools Alida Begina said.

The town will use part of the $14.5 million earmarked for an extensive

renovation and expansion to rid the school of its moldy classroom ceilings.

Bear Path parents say they welcome the quick removal of the mold, but fear

the renovation project will run out of funds before it's finished.

" We want to make sure this doesn't negatively impact the fund, and that they

will find the money to replenish it, " Bear Path PTA President Leone

said.

" I want my kid to have a nice, safe, comfortable environment, " said beth

Chapelle, whose son is in fifth grade at Bear Path.

Hamden will apply to the state for the new school repair and renovation

grant by Jan. 15 to cover the costs of removing the mold, Begina said.

School and town officials also will meet with architects and engineers for

the Bear Path project to find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing

quality.

" We're early enough in the process that we can try to find additional

savings, " she said.

If the state doesn't come through with extra funds, and if officials can't

lower construction costs, Begina said the Board of Education may have to ask

the town for more money to finish the project.

" It was never anticipated that we would have to remove all the ceiling

materials, " Begina said. " That was before we realized the extent of the mold

problems. "

Tests revealed high levels of mold in five classrooms. A classroom that

houses second graders had more than 1 million mold spores growing in the

fabric of the ceiling; more than 100,000 spores is considered a high level.

The school's aged, leaky roof is being blamed for the mold. Bear Path's roof

is 38 years old; school officials say the average life of that type of roof

is 20 to 25 years.

Starting in June, Bear Path will be rebuilt with a new roof, floors,

ceilings, walls, a science lab, cafeteria and gymnasium. The school also

will have a new wing that will increase the size of the building by more

than 50 percent. Two-thirds of the project is state funded; the town

approved its share in 2000.

©New Haven Register 2002

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