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Date: 11/2/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — With an eye to the upcoming winter weather, School Committee members asked administrators to speed the process of building an enclosed connector between Tatham School and its modular classrooms.
“I feel like it keeps getting pushed down the line,” said committee member Diana Coyne at an Oct. 17 meeting. “We need to make sure everyone is clearly aware that part of this whole thing is that it’s a safety concern.”
Tatham has used four modular classrooms for the past four years, said Assistant Superintendent Vito Perrone. They host two classes each of grades 3 and 5. Since the modulars don’t connect directly to the school building, students have to be escorted to and from class. If a student has to leave class while the teacher is teaching — to be picked up by a parent or to be sent to the nurse, for example — an office clerk or the principal may have to take time to do so.
School administrators identified the need for an enclosed connector last spring, when discussing projects that could be funded by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, federal aid funds. So far, they have produced preliminary plans, but Perrone said they need to go through a competitive bidding process for construction plans and the construction work itself. The mayor has set aside $1 million from ESSER for this project.
Perrone said it will take “a matter of months” for the bidding and construction. He said it would be possible to build the connector in the spring, but less disruptive to wait until the summer, when school is no longer in session.
One of the ESSER projects identified earlier this year was built over the summer, the conversion of the classroom closest to Fausey School’s main entrance as a new office suite. This new location better allows office staff to screen visitors as they arrive at the school.
A similar project is planned at Memorial School, and also has $1 million set aside for it. Perrone said that work will likely be done over the summer in 2024.