Warren Elementary School has continued to address a long list of repairs to the building and grounds that were recommended by Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust (VSBIT) in 2009. Washington West Supervisory Union superintendent Brigid Scheffert Nease reported these safety violations to Vermont Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe this past September.
Several repairs have been completed by school and community members in the past months, but larger structural projects will be tackled by a contracting firm. The school board released a request for proposal (RFP) in late December and so far 12 companies have inquired about the work.
At this week’s school board meeting on December 5, school principal Beth Peterson said that the board will choose a company by February, but that even then they will only have information regarding the scope and scale of the work, not costs. Those figures will trickle in closer to the date of the bond vote which is likely to occur in early summer.
Other safety concerns raised, such as the discovery of mold in one of the school’s bathrooms, have been remedied. Peterson said that the school recently passed a lead test, a water quality test and will schedule a test for Radon in the near future.
Board chair Michael Ketchel said that “as soon as a red flag comes up, we deal with it.”
The list of repairs and security measures to be completed can be found here: www.warrenschool.org/warrenschool2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Holcombe-Action-Plan-Draft.pdf
