Repairs to the Oxford Center School classroom building roof could take up to three weeks to complete — and will likely cost more than $100,000, according to interim Superintendent James Connelly.
A tree fell on building no. 6 at the school during the snow storm on Saturday (Oct. 28). The school is set up in a campus style, with one main building and several smaller classroom buildings.
The tree severely damaged the roof at building no. 6 — where two fifth-grade classes are located.
It also damaged a mechanical air handler that was situated on the roof, according to Connelly.
“This is a significant job,” Connelly said Tuesday. ​“This isn’t a two-day patch job.”
Connelly said the repairs to the roof itself will cost more than $100,000. He does not know yet what it will cost to fix or replace the mechanical air handler on the roof.
The district has asked for an estimate from a contractor on the roof work. They expect to get the estimate back sometime today (Tuesday, Nov. 1) or tomorrow, Connelly said.
Once he gets the estimate, Connelly will meet with Board of Education chairman Rose McKinnon to discuss whether the repairs can be considered emergency work.
If they deem the roof repairs emergency spending, the board can bypass the normal bid process, saving two to three weeks in wait time, Connelly said.
Connelly said in a best case scenario, repairs might be done in 10 days. Worst case scenario is two to three weeks to get everything fixed.
Schools Closed
Schools in Oxford are closed again on Wednesday, and school officials will reassess then whether to open on Thursday.
Connelly said he will send a message to parents and families through the district’s Connect-ED system to let them know either way.
When schools are open again, the students in the two fifth-grade classes will go to class in another classroom building. That building is used for the school’s early intervention and other special programs where students are pulled from their classes to get extra help.
That extra help will take place inside the school’s main building while the repairs are being done, Connelly said.
“The services will be relocated, but they won’t be interrupted,” Connelly said.