Repair Work Begins at Wilson Avenue School

When Tropical Storm Irene blew through town almost exactly a year ago, it left a waterlogged Ironbound grade school -- and many angry parents -- in its wake.

On Wednesday, state and local officials gathered at Wilson Avenue School to announce repairs that will better protect the 131-year-old building from the elements. At least some parents, however, are still not happy with the way those repairs are being carried out.

The pre-K through grade 8 school  just as classes were slated to begin, due to a mold problem resulting from water seeping into the structure. Seven hundred students were temporarily relocated to Quitman Street School in the Central Ward and a school in Belleville until Wilson Avenue was reopened in January.

Steve Morlino, the executive director of facilities for the Newark Public Schools, said Wednesday the district had done $600,000 in repair work to clear up the mold and for other repairs to get it ready for students.

But this was just the first phase of a plan to shore up the aging brick structure. The second phase, which is now underway, involves an additional $1.9 million to replace 131 windows, repair masonry work, fix the roof and  to “seal the building’s envelope” against water infiltration, Morlino said.

The work, which is being done by Brockwell & Carrington of Towaco, is being paid for by the state Schools Development Authority (SDA) and will take up to six months to complete, the SDA said in a statement. The district asked for state help to make the repairs shortly after Tropical Storm Irene.

Making the repairs “required all of us to dig deep and come up with a plan,” said Newark Superintendent of Schools Cami Anderson. “We were able to work together and get the school back on line.” 

The school will not be closed while these repairs are being made. Instead, the work will happen after the end of the school day and into the evening, as well as on weekends if necessary, officials said. 

Originally, however, the second phase of the project had been scheduled to be finished by now, before the children returned to school for the 2012-13 academic year, Marc Larkins, the chief executive officer of the Schools Development Authority,

“The commitment that was given to us when we first found out about this problem was that the work was to begin in June,” said Newark Municipal Councilman Augusto Amador, who represents the Ironbound. “That didn’t take place and now we’re going to have construction going on during the school year.”

Larkins, however, said his agency dealt with this “emergent problem” in record time. “This is faster than we’ve moved historically. This is lightning-fast." 

SDA officials also said workers will take great care to secure the site at the end of each work day to ensure the safety of students.

“The safety of the children is of the utmost importance. If there’s any question of the children’s safety we won’t do the work,” Larkins said.