Present: James Anastasio, Sandy Belanger, Susan Campbell, Kathy Casparius, Laura Hamilton,
Donna Madore, Kimberly Martin, John Pucciarelli, Lori Smail
The purpose of the meeting was to tour Farrington Elementary School and discuss the strengths and needs of the facility.
Mr. Pucciarelli discussed the structure. It was built in 1987-1988, opened to students in the fall of 1988. It is 48,000 square feet, the second largest elementary school in Augusta. It has 29 classrooms with specialized rooms, the building with the largest capacity for students.
The savings we manage from the heating and energy projects will be used to upgrade the temperature control system in the office area. The intercom system needs updating as well.
The library is an open area; the school has a separate cafeteria and separate gym and a dedicated music room away from regular classroom. Staff can hold multiple events due to this additional space.
The Principal’s office is at the front entrance, the computer lab has been redesigned as a teacher resource space and Title I space.
Upgrades done to the building have included removing carpets in all the downstairs rooms as in the summer they were covered with blooms of mildew. We have gone to tile on half walls in the bathrooms.
The heating plant will be renewed this summer. Ventilation has been improved as it was obsolete. The front exterior of the building was redone with brick. It was built with rough face; block glazed and did not work effectively. The exterior has been waterproofed only once. We have masonry issues on the exterior. A few years ago we had a roof issue, but that has been mitigated.
We need to be aware of the drainage difficulty on the site. We did add a catch basin and regraded. We have to make sure to clear the exterior drain outside in order to ensure no outside flooding from the roof.
Natural gas lines will be coming in from the back pathway. The lighting is fine in the building and they have a state of the art fire alarm system. The windows are fine and have only needed minor repairs. The place is fully handicapped accessible. The exterior doors are not numbered on the outside.
The gym floor needs repairs; however they do have a nice climbing wall.
The parking space is tight for the number of staff. The travel lane is manageable. Eventually the drive will require re-paving. The playground is large and spacious.
Ms. Smail noted that John’s staff has completed the requested painting projects to maintain a clean and inviting environment. The building houses grades K-6, the district ESL program, five special education programs and Title I programming in literacy and math.
The committee toured the building.
The next Facilities Committee meeting will take place on March 10 th at 4:00 p.m.
at the superintendents’ conference room. We will begin discussion around the possibility of reconfiguring the elementary schools. The AEA will be asked to designate two elementary teachers to participate. All elementary principals will be requested to attend.