Recent Boiler Problems Underscore Ongoing Infrastructure Woes in Fort Lee Schools

While Monday’s Board of Education meeting was dominated by discussion of the 2011-2012 school budget and notable for the surprising comments by one of the candidates running for a seat on the board, another issue that came up but nearly slipped through the cracks was that of ongoing infrastructure problems at Fort Lee schools, highlighted most recently by a series of problems with aging—and sometimes failing—boilers.

Among the most recent problems was an incident at the middle school in which an exhaust fan on a boiler failed, setting off a carbon monoxide detector and requiring the evacuation of the school.

Carbon monoxide readings were taken, revealing the presence of the toxic gas in the boiler room but not in any classrooms or student areas, according Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow, who called the ensuing operation a “simple matter of having [the boiler] repaired,” the exhaust fan motor replaced and the boiler was back in operation.

But the superintendent also said the incident and others like it at other Fort Lee schools, including School No. 1, “are not surprising given the age of our infrastructure.”

“Did [the carbon monoxide incident at the middle school] disrupt the educative process? Yes, it did,” Bandlow said. “This is what we’re running into more and more as a result of aging boilers, aging infrastructure, aging heating and ventilating equipment. That’s why if you look at our referendum, a huge amount of those repairs and renovations were in the areas of boilers and air handling.”

Fort Lee resident David Sarnoff raised the issue during the public comments portion of Monday’s meeting, noting both the middle school incident and the previous incident at School No. 1, which he reminded the board experienced a boiler fire, and “kids had to be evacuated in the middle of winter.”

“Obviously the referendum didn’t pass, but is it going to take a tragedy to get something done?” Sarnoff said. “And I know the community has to get involved, but when you have carbon monoxide detectors going off on boilers from the late 1950s, we’re [dealing] with a very serious safety and health issue that the students are being exposed to. I think something’s going to have to be done to replace these boilers as soon as possible. Otherwise we’re going to be here—God forbid—talking about a tragedy and then saying, ‘Why wasn’t it done in the past?’”

Addressing those concerns, board president Carmelo Luppino said discussions are taking place “on an ongoing basis as to what we need to do to repair our infrastructure.” He echoed Bandlow’s comments regarding December’s failed referendum, which Luppino called “a great proposal, actually.”

“It’s still on the table,” Luppino said. “We’re still working with it. We have until the end of the year. [We have] a lot of issues going on, some elections coming up [and] budgets that need to be prepared. Once we get through this stage, we’re going to get back onto that one. I feel it’s something that will better the town—the safety of the children—and it needs to be done. In one form or another, something needs to be done.”

In addressing another question about the cost of repairs to the boiler at the middle school, board secretary and business administrator Cheryl Balletto said she didn’t have an immediate figure available Monday. But as an example of how much aging infrastructure is costing the school district, she said that in the month of November alone, the cost of emergency repairs was about $25,000.

During her budget presentation, Balletto reported that the state’s new two percent tax levy cap resulted in a loss of $1 million in tax levy revenue. Bandlow said the cap makes infrastructure improvements yet another area in which the administration’s hands are to some extent tied in the absence of getting a referendum passed.

“As long as we’re under a very restrictive, two percent cap, I don’t see the feasibility of us being able to do anything serious with boiler replacement under our current operating budget,” Bandlow said Monday. “The only way we can do this is through referendum.”