Report: Portsmouth schools need $23 million in repairs

PORTSMOUTH

The school division says it needs nearly $23 million to make improvements and safety upgrades to many of its buildings over the next three years.

The recommendation, currently being reviewed by school leaders, includes new bleachers, roofs, and/ or ceilings at some schools; converting carpeted floor to tile; replacing fire alarm systems; adding surveillance cameras; and numbering all exterior doors on school buildings.

"They're all worthy and need to be done and will be done as quickly as finances allow us to move forward," Superintendent David Stuckwisch said.

A building condition and safety audit by school staff this spring led to the recommendations, said Nita Mensia-Joseph, the division's director of operations. The check, the second in three years, helps school officials establish three-year goals for building improvements, she said.

Simonsdale Elementary was largely not included in the recommendations because a new school building had been scheduled to open in 2011. That plan is now up in the air, however, because of a lack of funding.

Of the 23 school buildings addressed in the report, including preschools and other facilities, the most money for any one building, about $3.2 million, could be spent on Cradock Middle School. The building needs a new roof and boiler, which would cost about $2.1 million, according to the report.

The school's current roof and boiler are as old as Cradock, built in 1966, Mensia-Joseph said. The roof leaks despite repeated repairs and the boiler is "beyond economic repair," requiring custom-made parts, she said.

Recommended improvements for Cradock and the division's two other middle schools also include new resin-and-steel bleachers, Mensia-Joseph said.

Other buildings with some of the highest upgrade costs include Lakeview Elementary and Churchland Primary and Intermediate.

Lakeview, built in 1954, also has a roof dating to that year, Mensia-Joseph said.

In addition, Lakeview, as well as Emily N. Spong Preschool Center, the Diagnostic, Adjustive and Corrective Center, Mount Hermon Preschool Center, and Churchland Elementary need new ceilings, according to Mensia-Joseph.

The report says about $910,000 should be spent on new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at Churchland Primary and Intermediate. "We have major problems controlling the condition of the air in the school," Mensia-Joseph said.

At the high schools, the most money could be spent on Churchland High. In addition to other upgrades, about $1.4 million is needed for a roof repair, the report states.

Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com