SOUTH DEERFIELD — The move by Union 38’s central offices to the Frontier Regional School building was a breath of fresh air, literally.
Last month, the district moved its administration offices from Christian Lane to North Main Street out of necessity, following reports of poor air quality. At the same time, the district streamlined operations and shaved expenses.
“By being conservative and making good use of our money, we were able to make dollars stretch,” Superintendent Lynn Carey said last week, leading the way through converted classrooms at the North Main Street school — totaling about 4,500 square feet.
The move took place last month, but Carey said there’s still some unpacking to do. The administration office was back up and running a few days after the move.
Last fall, school officials began investigating reports of poor air quality in the Christian Lane building. The report recommended a remedy to the situation as soon as possible — either by moving employees or upgrading the building’s ventilation systems to ensure clean air.
According to town records, the Christian Lane building is 8,700 square feet, with 4,350 of that in the basement. The building and the almost 2 acres it sits on is valued at $546,800.
Despite the larger footprint, the former building didn’t seem as big because not all of the space was useable and was split between multiple floors.
In a statement released last December, Carey said bringing the building up to code was too expensive to be a good decision. The district also looked at renting space inside Whately’s Town Office building, but decided against it for the same reason and because of its smaller space — about 2,600 square feet.
“Everyone has more space than they did, and it’s a more community-based environment,” Carey said, while walking through a multipurpose room, complete with a conference table, refrigerator and copier, describing the moving process as a “smooth transition.”
Before the move, district staff members couldn’t interact with students because they were miles apart. Now, they work side-by-side. Recently, Carey said a few seniors came into her office requesting a snow day. She added, “and I love to see the kids.”
In order to further save taxpayer money, the district invested in used furniture and utilized existing storage space — resulting in a roughly $7,000 surplus of the allotted $35,000. Most was used to hire movers, the rest went toward a modern phone system and new locks, among other small items. Carey noted there’s other funds, a little more than $39,000, currently tied up in the Christian Lane for logistical reasons which will soon be available for use.
As far as how it has impacted students and teachers, Carey said the change has been a good experience so far. In order to free up space, a few middle school classrooms moved to the second floor, bringing them closer together than they were previously — in a cluster. She also highlighted Frontier Regional School Principal Darius Modestow’s accommodation in helping with the transition.
Looking ahead, Carey said she expects to reform a building sub-committee, which was initially tasked with investigating moving, to figure out what to do with the Christian Lane building.