While the district has not yet received the final bill from Turner Construction for roof clearing, the total is expected to be between $35,000 and $40,000. Raczka noted that Moody's new roof cost $1.2 million about four years ago, and that any issues dealing with roofs are just going to be expensive. All school roofs were evaluated by a structural engineer over the weekend, and all were found to be sound.
Raczka also commented on the evacuation process itself: "In the five years I've been on the board, we've never had to evacuate a school. This winter we've evacuated Woodrow Wilson twice (for electrical/fire issues) and now the two elementary schools. This is just unprecedented."
When asked what he thought about Moody students just sitting and waiting all day in Spencer's gym and cafeteria, Raczka said,
"I just think people didn't know what to do next....The people on the ground can't pull the thought process together fast enough, and we need to think that through better. It's not that anyone had evil intent, it's just that we had a plan for evacuation, but not much of one for after that, and this is such uncharted ground that we're learning ourselves as this is happening."
Raczka expects that the BOE will have a discussion about what students should be doing after an evacuation takes place during Facilities Director Ken Jackson's report to the board on facilities issues. Parents are encouraged to share their thoughts and suggestions with the Board of Ed by either speaking during the public comment session tomorrow night or by sending board members an email. "I didn't have one email this whole weekend," Raczka commented. I'm not there as a parent anymore and it's really helpful when parents speak up and tell us what's on their minds...an honest thought is a good thing!"
BOE Member contact information can be found here.
8 comments:
Three elementary schools have been evacuated. The Hartford Courant reports that Lawrence was evacuated today because there was a gas smell.
It also appears that the school roofs were not cleared of snow. The BOE administration has been cleared, but not the buildings that houses our kids during school hours.
Pardon the pun, but I think that we are the ones that are getting the snow job here.
Oh wow big shock that Raczka hasn't received any e-mails from parents. Maybe it's because everyone knows that he can't be bothered listening to parents or teachers. Please Middletown do everyone a favor and don't vote him in again.
It seems that with all the problems within the school system that surfaced this year; its about time the BoE comes up with a book of Standard Operating Procedures so that the "school administrators" know what to do when a safety situation arises.
I praise the actions taken by the Moody and Bielfield principles. As to the action of the Moody principle moving the children to another section of the building shows a lack of knowledge of how gas travels. Maybe she should have remembered what happened a year ago at the Clean Energy plant.
It wasn't Moody that had the gas situation. It was Lawrence. I commend Moody and Bielfield for moving the kids to a safer situation. If I put my child outside and asked them to stand there for an hour without a coat...wouldn't I be arrested for child abuse? There should be emergency protocol that all schools should follow. Not finding out there is a dangerous situation at a school 2 hours after it happened is absurd. Especially when the Hartford Courant reported it within a 1/2 hour. Ironically 1 year ago yesterday the gas plant exploded...this is not a situation to take lightly.
I know what I learned: Not to vote for Frechette ever!
ED in the Press today you blame the mayor when things go wrong and when things go right in the schools its all about the superintendent- why is that???
When the police were in the schools the mayor was accused of "overstepping" and told he had no right to have police set foot physically in the schools, yet when the mayor butts out of the schools business as he forced by the BOE to do, and lets Frechette take the reins of the snow and building issues its the mayor's fault again in your eyes?
Anon. 12:15:
I will take the blame for not being clear in an effort to be clever.
It's neither the mayor nor the superintendent alone.
It's how they don't act together as a team. It hurts the city, and now we can see it can be a danger to progress and to our children.
What snow removal are we paying for? The schools have not been cleared except what Mother Nature has removed. Someone needs to explain that one.
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