Branford High School falling into disrepair, district in critical position

By Owen Lentner, Chief Reporter

Branford High School is set to receive millions of dollars from the town to repair failing infrastructure, including the entire roof.

The district has been in talks with the town, specifically the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), to allocate $11.5 million to address BHS’ crumbling infrastructure. They successfully secured the capital on Oct 30 after a special town meeting was held, with talks to begin work when the school year ends.

“Those critical needs [to fix the infrastructure] are so pressing that we really can’t wait to do the high school renovations in the seven phases that was proposed,” opened Christopher Tranberg, the district superintendent at the meeting.

The building sits on 38.5 acres of land, including the wetlands in the rear of the school. It was originally constructed in 1958 and has had two additions in its lifetime: one in 1983 that added the second, larger gym and locker rooms as well as an auto shop. The other addition, occurring in 1998, added the F-Wing as well as the Library. It also closed the interior courtyard, creating the cafeteria used now. 

The school was evaluated by Tecton Architects of Hartford to pinpoint areas of weakness. It was broken down into subsections with each rated on a scale of 1 – 4 with 1 being ‘very poor’, needing immediate attention and 4 being ‘good’ with no immediate attention needed within the next decade. In general, the building was ranked ‘fair’ in condition by Tecton. Some parts of the building, however, needed prompt attention due to the risk of catastrophic failure.

Average evaluation score on each important subsection of the school:

Subsection	Score
Roofing: both membranes	1 – very poor
Mechanical systems: boilers, chillers, HVAC, pumps	1.75 – very poor
Bathroom facilities: toilet fixtures, dispensers, partitions	1.5 – very poor
Windows: skylights & wall windows	1 – very poor
Walls: interior and exterior	2.6 – poor

The district has formed a committee to oversee and dictate the project. Tranberg noted how they were going to apply for a grant to offset some of the financial burden.

The biggest issues that need immediate attention at the school are the roof and HVAC system.

“Right now the HVAC in the F-Wing is partially failed and pretty close to completely failing. It will be a challenge to even get through this winter,” Tranberg explained.

Brendan Leddy, the district Facilities Director, added some more information on the roof and fire alarm system.

“[There are] twenty-two different sections of roof at the high school, and all twenty-two sections are at end of life or catastrophic failure,” he said at the meeting. “The life safety system we have in the building, while compliant, [is] thirty-six years old at best.”

An itemized list for the project was provided to the RTM at the meeting.

Item	Cost
BHS Roof and Skylights	$600,000
BHS Roof and Skylights: Amendment (1)	$8,200,000
HVAC system: F-Wing	$350,000
Fire/Life Safety systems	$350,000
Site Safety Improvements	$200,000
Plumbing and Electrical	$400,000
Ceiling Replacement	$200,000
Flooring	$650,000
Contingency	$550,000
TOTAL	$11,500,000

The RTM unanimously approved the request by the district for the capital needed to begin the project.

Teachers and students at BHS have been feeling the outcome of failed infrastructure around the school recently.

The notorious red garbage cans around the school are a tell tale sign it’s raining outside. These cans are put out in leaky areas in the school to collect rainwater when a shower happens.

Students have also had to become more flexible with their bathroom usage: many of the facilities, especially the boys restrooms, have no stall doors for privacy. Several restrooms also lack sufficient working sinks and mirrors. Most students have resorted to using the two available single occupancy restrooms.

Delia Kropiwincki is one of the drawing and ceramics teachers at the high school. She entered her classroom after Thanksgiving break to find a huge puddle of water on the ground, which she noted was from a leak in the roof.

“There [have] been leaks in the art room on and off for as long as I’ve been here, ten years,” Kropiwnicki said. “One year [a] leak spilled all over art work, it ruined the whole top layer of art work.”

Hou Chen, one of the chemistry teachers at the high school, has his science room in the F-Wing. Upon returning from Thanksgiving break, he noted his room was extremely hot.

“I walked into [my classroom] and it was 95 degrees,” Chen explained. “It was going to be unbearable for the students in there so I moved them over to the Lecture Hall until period two.”

Construction on the high school is set to begin in the summer to repair the critical infrastructure.