News - Local News

POSTED: Wednesday, May. 27, 2009

Repairs to Custer Elementary finally coming

CUSTER - Students and teachers at Custer Elementary School will be able to breathe cleaner air this fall after major work to the ventilation system and building this summer.

Work is slowly getting under way on about $1.3 million in repairs to the aging elementary school. The work was approved by the Ferndale School Board at a meeting in April, but the plans were initially discussed years ago.

Voters approved a $32.2 million bond in 2006 to make repairs to many buildings across the district, including Custer Elementary. The work hasn't been done until now because after the bond passed and crews started closely examining the building, it was discovered more structural work would be needed.

The district asked voters to approve another bond in winter 2008, which would have provided $21 million to rebuild Custer and North Bellingham elementary schools. But the bond failed, and then failed again in spring 2008.

"The building is in significant need of some help and we didn't want to spend (the money) if it was going to be replaced," said Mark Deebach, executive director of business and support services. "We're making the building livable until we pass a bond."

Custer Elementary's current building was built in the early 1930s and many additions have been made over the years. Any of the planned work is expected to have a 10-year lifespan, which district officials hope is long enough for a bond to pass and a new building to be constructed, according to the "Custer Proposal" submitted to the school board.

One of the biggest issues over the last few years is the air quality, according to the Custer Proposal. An agent from Northwest Clean Air Agency visited the school in 2008 and commented that most of the classrooms had little airflow due to loud vents being turned off so students could hear the teacher. The vents in question date back to 1980 and also don't provide enough air exchange for the size of classrooms they're in.

Poor airflow also means that dust has been settling into the school's aging carpet, also installed in 1980, making the air quality even worse.

To fix these problems, the school board approved the replacement of all old vents and carpet and the installation of fans in the school's crawl space to improve air circulation. In all, those projects are expected to cost about $668,000.

North Bellingham work approved in the 2006 bond won't be done because that was for minor repairs to a building now condemned. But that money can't be shifted without school board approval. The district is still trying to finalize plans for the site.

Other work scheduled for Custer includes:

Fixing the leaky roof by replacing missing and worn roofing and slope the roof over three classrooms that have roof pooling -$163,000.

Removing asbestos from the crawl space - $43,671.

Replacing 50-year-old worn out faucets and sinks - $5,000.

Replacing wooden gym doors, old hardware on many doors, and adjust the other exterior doors so they hang properly in the door jamb, allowing for better school lock-down ability - $31,000.

Replacing old light fixtures and add adequate lighting to breezeway, boiler room and other areas - $8,000.

Remodeling the interior of rooms 1, 2 and 3. Currently, to enter rooms 1 and 2 from inside the building, people must walk through room 3. There are some non-support walls that can be removed to make the space more useable. - $82,000.

Enclosing the breezeway by rooms 11, 12 and 13, which would prevent people from entering during non-school hours and keep people warm and dry. - $28,000.

Removing two oil tanks, a 1,500 gallon tank and 500 gallon tank, which are aging and posing environmental concerns - $25,114.

Painting all interior walls, trim, doors and wood window panels, most of which haven't been painted since 1980 - $169,260.