Construction at Adamsville Primary Nears Completion

The project to replace the roof on Adamsville Primary School on Union Avenue is expected to be completed before the start of school Sept. 8, officials said Tuesday.

Board of Education member Arvind Mathur reported that the project, which began just after school ended in June, is nearing completion, and will be done before the students return in two weeks.

"The company has done a phenomenal job, and we are very pleased with it," he said.

Patwood Roofing Company, of Lyndhurst, had been contracted to do the work, for an original total of $849,000. Some of the contract has already been paid, and the board approved Tuesday another payment of $205,785 to the company.

Mathur said the Adamsville Primary roof was selected as one of the school district's capital improvements several years ago, before the recent budget cuts, because of its age and leaks that had been found throughout the building.

"This was part of our comprehensive maintenance," he said. "The cost was included in the 2009-2010 school budget."

Among other schools that have had roofs replaced in the past, Mathur said, was the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, which was also dealing with leaks and other structural problems several years ago.

Normally, Mathur said, if a project is not expected to be completed before the start of school—because these types of expansive roof projects are usually done during the summer months—it will be broken into two parts so that construction is not being done while the children are in the building.

"The kids' safety is very important," he said. "That is our primary objective. We don't want roof construction going on once school starts."

Each year, Mathur said, the district looks at a list of necessary capital improvements for the coming year, although many of those planned projects had to be cut this year because of budget shortages. The board was forced to reduce some district facility improvements in order to lower the budget before it failed in the April election.

Fortunately, Mathur said, the money was already available to move forward with the Adamsville Primary roof.

"When you go out to bid, you have to make sure all your t's are crossed," he said. "We try to save as much money as possible for these projects."

The final school budget, as approved in May, stands at a total of $128,639,881, and also includes the reduction of about 63 teachers and five administrators, as well as a change to outsource custodial services and many other cuts to programs and capital improvements.

Still, the plan had already been in place to begin the Adamsville repairs, and the district had set aside the funds to do the work prior to the completion of the 2010-2011 school budget.

At this point, Mathur said, the work itself has mostly been completed, and the roofing project is in its final stages with testings of past leaks and ensuring that the work satisfies district regulations. So far, he said, everything looks good.

"We try to save as much money as possible [so we can do these repairs]," he said. "It is all part of the capital program."

With the budget cuts, Mathur said, some capital projects have had to be held back for now. He said the district has had to focus on the most pressing safety issues at hand.

"We had a list that is long of repairs needed," he said. "We had to prioritize the things to cut."