Dateline: June 16, 2005

CISD undertakes $500k abatement, renovation

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

School’s out for the summer, but there is still plenty of activity at Clarendon ISD where a $500,000 asbestos abatement and renovation is underway.

The project calls for the removal and replacement of the floors and ceilings in all the 1961-era buildings on the campus. And it’s all got to be over and done with before classes start again this fall.

“It almost seems like an insurmountable mountain,” said Superintending Monty Hysinger, “but we’re going to make it.”

The administration building, elementary school, junior high school, library, and cafeteria all had to be abandoned. The contents from those buildings were boxed up with junior high, cafeteria, and library contents going to the Old Gym and elementary contents going to the Colt Gym.

“We used about 2,600 boxes to move everything,” Hysinger said.

Remodeled in 1989, the high school building has become the hub of all school functions with administrative offices temporarily relocated to the second floor and summer school being held on the third floor.

Work started in the Administration Building and is expected to be finished this week. Abatement workers are currently taking up floor tile and removing ceiling tiles and grids in the C-Wing of the elementary school. Hysinger said work will then proceed to the junior high or A-Wing, then the D-Wing of the elementary, and finally the B-Wing, which includes the cafeteria, library, and home economics room.

In additions to new floors and ceilings, all lights will be replaced or retrofitted with new high-efficiency fixtures, all classrooms will be repainted, and all the old green chalkboards will be replaced with new marker boards.

The school’s old boiler was removed several years ago, but the current project will finish that job by removing the old pipes and radiators from the classrooms.

The school is also conducting this work with an eye on the future.

“We’re putting new heavy R-30 insulation in the ceilings,” Hysinger said, “but we’re suspending it in chicken wire so that we have a dead space above the new ceiling tile to run future wiring and cabling.

The abatement work will cost about $150,000, and the new ceilings, floors, insulation, lights, and marker boards will cost some $350,000. Hysinger said CISD will pay for the work with money from its reserves.

The project has to be completed by August 5 and for each day (up to seven days) the contractor gets through ahead of schedule, CISD will pay a bonus of $1,000.

Hysinger said the project should extend the life of the 44-year-old facilities.

“The contractor and I were talking about these buildings,” Hysinger said. “It’s such a simple design, but it’s the type of design that will last a long time with a little care. There’s no reason these buildings shouldn’t last another 30 years.”