Butler Area School District officials have detailed some of the work that needs to be done to several school buildings and other campus facilities.
One of the most pressing needs the district is planning to address is issues with roofs at a couple elementary schools.
Matthew Hansen, a project manager with IKM Architecture, discussed the root of the cause of leaks from the ceiling of Northwest Elementary during a facility tour on Monday.
“There is a piece higher than the roofline of the surrounding area so if you’re standing on the roof, you can still see a vertical wall and the horizontal wall comes into that and it’s that intersection that’s failing,” he said. “Water is running basically down this wall when it rains.”
Hansen was joined by members of the administration and maintenance staff on a tour for school board members on Monday night. Leaks around a skylight at Center Township Elementary were also discussed on the tour as another project in need of attention.
Back at Northwest, Hansen points out an additional roof defect that has contributed to the damaging leak issue.
“There’s only one roof drain for that volume and it’s in the corner and for whatever reason, the roof is really not sloped to that drain so on a rainy day or right after a rainy day, it looks like a swimming pool is filled,” he said. “We need to add a couple of roof drains.”
These roof repairs could be addressed this summer using money the district borrowed through a recent bond issue. Additional changes and possible projects will be highlighted as part of an ongoing series each day this week.
To pay for these needed repairs and changes, the Butler School Board voted last year to borrow about $9.5 million through a bond issue.
Written By: Ryan Saeler for the Butler Radio Network
