Accrediting Agency To Inspect Mount Greylock High SchoolBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
10:38PM / Sunday, September 30, 2012 | |
Mount Greylock Regional school officials will have to convince the regional accrediting agency that it has a plan to address building deficiencies that have put the high school on the 'warning' list. The School Building Committee met last Thursday to discuss some of the issues. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional High School's accrediting agency will visit this week to review its warning status.
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges threatened to revoke the school district's accreditation if officials could not come up with a backup plan to address the school building's deficiencies.
The independent organization wants to know what the district will do if it is not accepted by the state School Building Authority to build a new school, to install a fire suppression system, bring the school into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, upgrade the science labs and heating systems and eliminate moisture that is causing mold in the building's north end, among other things.
The school filed a report in March that outlined its efforts, including slowly working to resolve deficiencies by reconditioning the heating and ventilation systems, performing asbestos abatement, making progress on ADA-compliance and other repairs within the constraints of the school district's budget. School officials are still uncertain if they will be accepted in the MSBA's program but hope to know by November at the latest.
However, NEASC officials responded that they wanted to meet with school officials and tour the building - particularly with the science labs since Mount Greylock's plan is to ship Advanced Placement students to Williams College. NEASC wants to know if the dysfunctional labs are detrimental to the curriculum.
The building subcommittee has previously discussed the issue and considered the options of renting trailers in that circumstance but never went beyond discussing it. At its latest meeting last week, Subcommittee Chairwoman Carrie Greene said the time for discussion is over and that the group needs to have a set plan.
"We inherited the issue. The issue has been around for a while," subcommittee member David Backus responded.
Yet nothing has been done in a six-year period that saw a large turnover in School Committee members, a change in administration and a falling out of the building committee when the new school project was set aside to deal with a collapsed ceiling in the locker rooms.
The building subcommittee reformed about a year ago and again set to the task of convincing the state to support building a new school. In the meantime, NEASC grew impatient and threatened to decertify the school after six years of being in the "warning" level.
"It's time to stop talking and figure out what we're going to do," Greene said. "Our only response so far has been to take our AP lab to the college campus."
Backus recently explored possible options and said the state had had money to renovate the labs but that would have endangered the application for a new building. He proposed renovating just the 4,800 square feet of science labs with new utility lines, ventilation system (the labs are tied into one duct), safety equipment and moving the work spaces to the permitter.
Other committee members guessed the cost at up to $500,000, questioned if it was the best option and brought up renting trailers, which had been previously discussed. They planned to compare prices before committing to a plan.
While the subcommittee has vacillated on science lab options, asbestos removal programs have been set in motion. Subcommittee member and custodian Jesse Wirtes has had consultants inspect the school's asbestos and Wirtes has developed three major abatement projects.
The asbestos in the school is being monitored and are contained so do not pose a health hazzard, he said, but still he would like to get quotes so the removal can begin during the next summer. Asbestos removal will have to be completed on the school's dime whether or not MSBA supports a new building.
"It's not like we're in critical mode right now so we can wait until the end of the school year," Wirtes said. "It would be nice to have all three projects"
Superintendent Rose Ellis said that while money had not been built into the budget for those project, there is some money set aside for building improvements which may be able to pay for the removal.
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