Derby school officials did not receive the necessary permits from the city’s building inspector or the city’s fire marshal before starting a $94,000 renovation within Derby High School.
The permits are required by state law.
The school district is renovating an empty portion of the high school to house a small preschool program, but construction on the project stopped about two weeks ago after a verbal order from Derby Fire Marshal Phil Hawks.
A new set of plans is now under review by Hawks and Derby Building Inspector Carlo Sarmiento.
“We have to see that everything is up to code,” Hawks said.
The fire marshal and the building inspector hoped to have their review done by Friday (Sept. 12).
Hawks said he twice had to tell workers to stop so he could review the preschool plans to make sure they complied with state fire codes.
The Issue
The fire marshal said he first received plans to review from the school district in early August, but saw errors in the documents and sent the plans back for revision.
He said no construction was to take place until the school project received sign-offs from his office and the building inspector.
However, on Friday, Aug. 22, Hawks went to the high school and saw construction was underway.
“They had done a lot of work, so there was a stop work order that was put in on a Friday, and they were still working there the following Monday (Aug. 25). I told them, again, they had to stop,” Hawks said.
The fire marshal said there were two fire code violations he could see in plain view, and that it was imperative for him to review the school’s plans for the space before work continued.
The reviews by the fire marshal and building inspector are required by state law, to ensure the rooms are safe. Violations of state fire code carry maximum penalties of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Hawks said that while the school district had a demolition permit from the city to begin gutting the rooms, the permit did not authorize them to begin construction work on the new classrooms.
Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway could not answer why construction started without proper permits.
“I’ve had a conversation with the fire marshal and our conversation was around not doing any work until the fire marshal can issue the permits,” the superintendent said.
Sarmiento, Derby’s building inspector, downplayed the lack of permits, saying it was “a little bit of miscommunication,” and that everything had been straightened out.
No construction work has been done on the new preschool classrooms since the fire marshal’s late August visit. Crews have been working on the heating system, but they have a permit for that work, Sarmiento said.
“(School district officials) are patiently awaiting, and are anxiously awaiting to finish their project,” Sarmiento said. “They have partial permits for some of the things, so (now) they are not doing anything they are not supposed to.”
About Derby Preschool
Derby has a small preschool program of several dozen students at classrooms at the Bradley and Irving schools.
The preschool has two, roughly three-hour sessions, in the morning and afternoons.
The preschool was supposed to move to the high school in October, and it still could, but Conway said it isn’t going anywhere until the fire marshal and building inspector gives a green light.
The high school building once housed middle school students as well. Space within the building opened up once the city built a new middle school across the street.
State grant money is being used to convert the old industrial arts section of the high school into a preschool.
Expanding Preschool
Conway and the school district are also pursuing grant money to provide preschool for all Derby youngsters.
“Everything is through state grants. My goal here is that we build a universal preschool program that is, my goal, at no cost to local taxpayers, through state grants and other funding resources,” Conway said.
It is an important part of a larger, long-term plan to improve Derby Public Schools.
School officials hope an expanded preschool program will allow teachers to help kids early, giving them a better chance at academic success as they go through the school system.
A “universal” preschool in Derby could serve about 130 kids.
Currently, Derby, because of its sagging test scores and wide achievement gap, is considered an “alliance district” by the state education department, meaning it qualifies for extra state funding because it is “underperforming.”
Since taking the reins in in January 2013, Conway has been snagging grants for the cash-strapped school district.
Grants have been used for everything from laptops at the high school to the hiring of an assistant superintendent.
