AMHERST — An Aug. 17 walkthrough of the Amherst Regional Middle School and Chestnut Street Academy, during which school personnel fell ill likely due to poor air quality inside the building, prompted the decision two days later to delay the start of the academic year.
“Several individuals who walked through that day experienced … headaches and different issues, some with respiratory issues,” Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman told the Regional School Committee Tuesday.
Herman and Mark Wickman from Vertex Engineering, as the owner’s project manager, provided a series of written responses to questions posed by committee members about the ongoing $9.83 million roof replacement project at the building, being handled by Silktown Roofing Inc. of Manchester, Connecticut, and problems that have cropped up since construction began on June 19.
While classes for sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Amherst and seventh and eighth graders from Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett were able to start Aug. 31, five days after the original date for school opening that coincided with the first day of school at the high school and Amherst elementary schools, the gymnasium and swimming pool remain off limits. The contract with Silktown states that substantial completion for that part of the building is Sept. 30.
For committee members, questions centered around why the decision to delay the school year appeared to be abrupt.
“Aug. 17 seems very, very late in this project to figure out that school would have to be delayed and that the building was not safe for people to be in,” said Leverett representative Tim Shores.
Shores said the plans had been for the classroom wing of the building to be completed by the scheduled first day of school, understanding that the roof work on the gym, pool and auditorium might take longer.
“Ultimately I’m not surprised by the delay itself… but the information about the delay seems to have not been conveyed to the right people soon enough,” Shores said.
Part of the issue stemmed from the discovery of asbestos in July, which needed to be abated, and the affected ductwork had to be replaced.
Even after that, though, Herman wrote in a letter to families that water leaked into classrooms during a rainstorm, because the new roof membrane hadn’t been fully installed. A total of 600 ceiling tiles ended up being replaced that were damaged by leaks.
Herman also noted that electrical issues at the school, associated with breakers and control switches, caused problems for installation of 26 exhaust fans. This meant that the required “Testing, Adjusting and Balancing” activities for the fans, to demonstrate they were functioning properly, didn’t happen until Aug. 27.
After the air quality became a concern, Environmental & Construction Management Services Inc. did complete indoor air quality assessments and sampling to make sure classes could begin without teachers and students having any ill effects.
Some of the problems developed earlier in the summer, Herman said. On July 14, with work progressing, Herman said she started limiting staff from entering building, and met with Vertex and Silktown to come up with a plan for any staff to enter the building through the maintenance entrance.
By Aug. 17, the building had experienced some water intrusion and staff, who had been expected to begin arriving to set up their classrooms, were halted from coming in, both because of the air quality but also to allow the contractor to do work without interruption.
Wickman said there is no evidence the gym or auditorium additions to the roof project caused delays for the classrooms.
“While water intrusion did occur during certain phases of construction, particularly during periods when active roof replacement operations were underway, Vertex’s observations indicate that the extent of construction-related water infiltration was generally limited and localized rather than widespread throughout the facility,” he wrote. “It is also important to recognize that the Amherst Regional Middle School has experienced a documented history of water intrusion and building envelope-related concerns that predate the current roofing project.”
Regional committee representative Sarahbess Kenney said despite the challenges, there are protections in place for the district.
The project was designed by T2 Architecture and approved by registered and licensed architects and engineers, she said, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority had to approve the project and continues to approve the construction as it progresses.
“In order for payment to be released, certain milestones have to be met, including
approval from registered design professionals associated with the project,” Kenney said.
