School Committee motions for high school roof repair

Dartmouth High School has had the same roof ever since the building opened in 2001, and now a motion is underway to replace it.

The current roof, which was primarily constructed out of black rubber, shrinks and contracts with heat, said Assistant Superintendent James Kiely. This can cause the material to crack and deteriorate and ultimately lead to water leaks.

The new roof would ideally be constructed out of PVC, which is a durable and lightweight synthetic plastic. Unlike roofs made of black rubber that have glued seams, the PVC is melted together, which Kiely said “apparently just makes it a stronger material [and] longer lasting.”

While PVC is more expensive than black rubber, roofs made with the material are “expected to last 30 plus years,” he added.

Beginning in 2011 with the replacement of the Quinn School’s roof, all of the elementary school’s and the middle school’s roofs are made with PVC.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, the Massachusetts School Building Authority, an organization that supports the design and construction of public school facilities, toured each school building to assess the conditions they are in.

This included going up on roofs, looking at boiler rooms, electrical panels, plumbing and heating equipment, Kiely said.

During this assessment, the organization found that the majority of the windows in the high school, which are 25-years-old, were cloudy and had broken seals and condensation issues.

“We’ve got moisture from the windows and moisture from the roof in the building,” Kiely said.

To fund the roofing project and install new windows, the School Committee voted unanimously to make a motion to approve a Statement of Interest to send to the Massachusetts Schools Building Authority on Monday, Feb. 24.

Requirements to request funding include first voting on the School Committee to file a statement of interest then appear before the Select Board for their vote and get a “series of signatures,” Kiely said.

“We need to do all this in the next month,” he added.

Kiely said he thinks the organization will “likely support” the proposal, citing its previous assistance with projects at the middle school, the Potter School and the Quinn School.

“It would be money well spent for the MSBA [and] money well spent for us,” he said.

Now that the School Committee has voted to approve the Statement of Interest, Kiely said the goal is to appear before the Select Board at their Monday, Feb. 24 meeting.