Asbestos forces Webutuck grades 7-12 to learn remotely

WEBUTUCK — Though disappointed to learn seventh- through 12th-graders in the North East (Webutuck) Central School District (WCSD) would be switching to remote learning for the next few weeks, the Board of Education (BOE)  addressed asbestos contamination in the Webutuck High School auditorium head-on at its highly anticipated board meeting on Monday, Jan. 24.

More than 80 people tuned into the 7 p.m. Zoom meeting. Superintendent of Schools Raymond Castellani explained Amenia experienced heavy winds and below-freezing temperatures a few weeks ago, resulting in a power outage in the district.

The weekend before Monday, Jan. 17, he said Senior Maintenance Manager Walt Kilmer and his crew conducted inspections and identified no visible damage in any of the school buildings apart from some minor issues with its heating. Yet when students returned to classes on Tuesday, Jan. 18, Castellani said Kilmer notified him about the flooding in the high school auditorium.

A coil burst in one of the heating units above the auditorium's ceiling and water flooded into the auditorium from a broken pipe.

Castellani said the ceiling there is old plaster that was compromised by the broken pipe. The real problem is the isolated areas of asbestos that need to be removed immediately before the ceiling can be replaced.

“As long as that asbestos was encapsulated in the ceiling, we really didn’t have an issue with it,” Castellani said, adding the BOE was looking remove the asbestos in a future capital improvement project. The burst pipe requires the asbestos be removed now, as it is no longer contained and posses an immediate danger to those in the building.

Castellani said Webutuck’s insurance adjuster was on site on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to provide direction. WCSD expects the auditorium project will be fully covered by insurance, though it has yet to get an official “yes” from the adjusters.

Castellani asked  the BOE for a resolution declaring the event an emergency so it can send the project to its architect. On Wednesday, Jan. 26, he expected Webutuck to have a bid opening for asbestos abatement requests for proposals (RFPs), noting it already heard from six or seven asbestos removal companies.

If Webutuck can award the lowest bid quickly, Castellani said it will be able to start the abatement by this week. If it can begin on Thursday, Feb. 3, he plans to put into the contract that it wants the building returned to the district by Saturday, Feb. 26, with students returning on Monday, Feb. 28.

Given the challenges of COVID, Castellani said at this time, Webutuck will isolate its fifth- and sixth-grade students far enough away at the intermediate school. There will be a hard barrier between the school and the auditorium area.

There was talk about expanding that plan to seventh-graders, but there aren't enough classrooms for students in seventh through 12th grade. For now, those students will remain in remote instruction until the project is done, with hopes they  return to class on Feb. 20.

“I think everybody on the board is frustrated, angry, disappointed that we are having to put anybody on remote instruction again because we have been trying so very hard to get kids back in-person,” said BOE President Judy Moran, “…but the likelihood of coming up with any kind of solution… is probably just not great.”

Some parents expressed frustration about students returning to remote learning, including Clara Lovell, who posted on The Millerton News’ Facebook page “Our kids have been in and out of school for the past two years and now this,” she wrote.

Others were more understanding, looking at the positive side of having the technology to deal with such setbacks.

“If this happened 10 years ago, we wouldn’t even have the option of remote learning,” said one person during public comment, “and so we’d be tacking on time in June and messing up the kids, so I’m glad we have the option. I wish we didn’t have to use it, but there’s a little bit of a positive in this.”

Along with asking why the asbestos wasn’t remediated when initially discovered, another person asked the BOE its plans to protect students in the building and if there  air samples will be taken.

Understanding the challenges of dealing with such an emergency, parent Kelly Kilmer commended the district for dealing with the difficult circumstance.

After declaring the situation an emergency at Monday's meeting, the BOE announced it had unanimously awarded the asbestos abatement contract to ACA Environmental Services Inc. on Thursday, Jan. 27, for the amount of $238,935.