BRUNSWICK

Repairs to the aging Coffin Elementary and Brunswick Junior High schools could balloon up to between $8 million and $9 million.

That’s according to an architectural firm in discussions with the school district about how to make minimal repairs to keep the schools operational for the next decade.

For some on the school board, putting money into the buildings is a necessary evil.

“They’re dumps,” said board member Christopher McCarthy bluntly on Wednesday, lamenting the piecemeal approach taken to extend the lives of the schools, “and we’ve continued to not invest in them for decades.”

Regardless, McCarthy said the buildings need to be fixed.

“To put a Band-Aid on these schools and think they’re good enough for our children is outrageous,” he said.

Also outrageous, he said, was a lack of public input or outcry over the buildings’ conditions.

“Fix the damn schools,” he said. “All of it. Not just pieces of it.”

Coffin Elementary School was built in 1954 and is 21 years past its designed life cycle, according to Lyndon Keck of PDT Architects.

Among Coffin’s problems is the fact that it’s not a sprinklered building, has rusted and rotted exterior door frames, is in need of a new fire alarm and evacuation system, and needs new roofing. A quarter of the building’s structure is made of combustible material, with wood-framed walls between classrooms that are covered in plywood.

The oldest part of Brunswick Junior High School was built in 1959. Additions were built in 1966 and 1976. A portion of the building was repaired and renovated in 1983 after a fire. Floors in six BJHS classrooms have sunken, and some floors are sloping six inches. Portions of the school’s storm drain system have collapsed. Windows are leaking and drafty, asbestos needs to be removed, and a new fire alarm system is needed, among other issues.

Keck said PDT’s repairs would ensure the safety and security of students, “not to make the buildings pretty.”

“I suspect the repair price tag will be substantial,” Keck said.

Early repair estimates for Coffin and BJHS are $2.3 million and $3.5 million, respectively, but those amounts may increase as investigations as to the extent of repairs are more fully realized.

It would take 15-18 months to conduct repairs, according to Keck.

“I’m not thrilled with throwing good money after bad,” said McCarthy. “We throw $8 million at these buildings, and we’re still left with 50- to 60-year-old buildings.”

Board member Sarah Singer said she was concerned that the board has plans to move the fifth grade to the junior high, possibly increasing that school’s student population by 180, when it was in bad shape.

“This should be considered a factor when talking about the state of the facility,” she said.

Keck’s update is the latest in the wrangling over the costs associated with the aging buildings.

In July, the town council approved a $454,080 bond to pay for upgrades to the junior high’s ventilation system.

In December, the school board approved a number of steps to address the district’s aging buildings, including applying for the next round of state funding, drumming up support for a bond to repair Coffin and BJHS, and addressing the vacant Jordan Acres School.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com

What’s wrong?

COFFIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL was built in 1954 and is 21 years past its designed life cycle.

Among Coffin’s problems is the fact that it’s not a sprinklered building, has rusted and rotted exterior door frames, is in need of a new fire alarm and evacuation system, and needs new roofing.

THE OLDEST PART OF Brunswick Junior High School was built in 1959. Additions were built in 1966 and 1976. A portion of the building was repaired and renovated in 1983 after a fire. Floors in six BJHS classrooms have sunken, and some floors are sloping six inches.