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110300 Fox Lane High needs overhaul
By FRANK NARDOZZI
Serious building deficiencies at Fox Lane High School have been reported by the Bedford Central School Board's Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee.
Committee Chairman Homer Schoen showed a videotape presentation produced by the committee to illustrate the problems at the Bedford School Board meeting Wednesday, Nov. 1. A transcript of the videotape was provided to board members and the public afterwards.
The report states the high school building, which was built in 1956 and has had three subsequent additions, has "significant widespread life safety, health and code shortfalls, especially in the classroom wings.
"The majority of all instructional classrooms contain vinyl asbestos floor tiles in fair to poor condition that should be abated," it states.
The committee, which was originally scheduled to present its final report and recommendations to the board by Nov. 15, has asked for more time to complete its work. Its report is not expected now until sometime in the first quarter of 2001.
This week's preliminary report said, "Most of the classroom wings have a second means of egress into a closed courtyard. All courtyards have life safety exiting problems that must be corrected."
The committee also found that the school's fire alarm system was a mixture of two different systems, most of it old, which it called "a serious deficiency," and recommended a comprehensive review of emergency exiting from the entire school building.
The exterior of the building is in "fair to poor to very poor condition, especially at the four classroom wings," the report states.
"There is no exhaust whatsoever from the classrooms except for Building K. As a result, the unit ventilators cannot bring in adequate fresh air. This is significantly under the mini-mum requirement of the ventilation code," the report states.
"There are about 100 ventilators in the classrooms that are 42 years old, in poor condition and need to be replaced," the report continues. "The toilet room exhaust fans and corridor vents do not provide adequate ventilation. Some ventilation has been removed to accommodate lockers. Original windows in the toilet rooms in the classroom wings have been eliminated." The committee recommends that "new exhaust systems should be installed."
The report states that "most windows are original, single-glazed, steel-framed units that are well beyond their useful life span, in very poor condition and should be replaced.
"The roof over the administration and center corridor is in poor condition" and "all steel curtain wall systems are past their useful life span and need to be replaced."
The report goes on to state that "most exterior doors are in very poor condition" and "many lintels show signs of deterioration and should also be replaced."
In addition, "many areas of bulging and deteriorating brickwork and deteriorated brick joints are in need of repair and re-pointing."
The committee states that "many louvers are in need of replacement" and that "100 unit ventilators are at the end of their useful life."
The committee also found that "over 70 percent of the existing, non-specialized classrooms are small" and have not yet been upgraded to include aisle widths required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nor has space been provided for computer technology stations.
The report states that the two recently renovated cafeterias do not serve half of the school's population and will have to be expanded to accommodate 700 students, half the high school population that is expected in 2008.
The committee's report goes on to state that the "well-used and well-regarded" Mary Lou Meese Theater lacks side wings and a backstage. It also lacks independent egress and safe areas away from heavy, suspended stage equipment.
The report states that the interior of Fox Lane High School varies from "extremely poor" condition in the classroom wings to "good" in the gymnasium.
"Fourteen toilet rooms are in need of total reconstruction. This includes new configuration, new fixtures, walls, ceilings, new ventilation and new doors," the re-port states.
"K-Wing classrooms require complete interior renovation. K-Wing science labs require total reconstruction and reconfiguration on the south side of 2 and 3, and complete renovation, including electrical and mechanical on the north side."
The report goes on to state that "most of the classrooms in Wings C, D, E, F, G and the new library require new 2 by 4 suspended acoustic ceilings with new light fixtures installed. With the lack of ventilation in these rooms, the new cei9ngs should also include new air distribution.
"Most of the classrooms throughout the facility will require new flooring and re-pair of the subsurface following the abatement of existing asbestos tiles," it states.
The report also states that built-in shelving, cabinets and blackboards are original and in poor condition and should be re-placed. K-Wing doors and hardware are in "very poor condition," causing the committee to recommend that all doors be re-keyed and hardware upgraded. The committee also noted that three high school wings have termites.
The next meeting of the committee is on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the conference room of the schools administration building. All committee meetings are open to the public for observation, however, the public is not allowed to participate in the commit-tee's deliberations.