Group Letter: Emergency Response Necessary from BOE and BET to get NMS Children off the Buses & Back in into Their Building

Submitted by:

District 12 – Aaron Leonard, Abigale McCarthy, Andrew Winston, Barbara Hindman, Bob May, Craig Amundson, David de Milhau, Don Whyko, Ellen Murdock, Francia Alvarez, Fred Lorthioir, Glen Canner, Hajime Agresta, Jeff Crumbine, Jocelyn Riddle, Mary Flynn, Miriam Mennin, Paula Mickley, Tom Agresta
District 8 – Janet McMahon, Molly Saleeby, Cheryl Moss

The Problem
North Mianus School (NMS), listed in 2019 as a National Blue Ribbon School, is home to 491 students. On February 13, NMS the largest Greenwich elementary school, experienced a catastrophic ceiling collapse in a second-floor classroom causing extensive damage and problems in the oldest section of the building including classrooms and the media center. Young children are now being bused to Cos Cob, Old Greenwich, and Parkway. Busing is only a temporary solution for our youngest students.

As members of the North Mianus community and representatives of RTM District 12, we would like to voice our strong support for these students and families.

A visual inspection of the adjacent areas of similar construction revealed that the ceiling was in the process of failing throughout the second floor… Due to the potential for water damage of the first floor ceiling plaster caused by the sprinkler system break, it is recommended that the first floor of the original building also have its plaster ceiling removed and replaced. Inspection Report, Feb 24, 2021

The complexity of returning students to North Mianus in a timely manner is a difficult task and the Board of Education (BOE) is still in the planning stages.

An estimated repair budget has been presented to the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) of $8.1 million. The BET has responded with an initial interim appropriation of $2.1 million.

The State of Greenwich Schools
There have been many problems with the state of our schools in recent years, and we want to support the BOE in the challenges that it faces. Unfortunately, it is the youngest of our school children that have suffered the most due to Covid-19 closures and now a ceiling collapse at NMS.

District 12 is requesting an emergency response on the part of the BOE and BET to get our children off the buses and back in their community school. We need a plan that keeps all NMS students at a single site together, and modular classrooms must be considered if a September goal to reopen cannot be met.

We recognize that there are hard costs associated with the repairs, but what are the intellectual and emotional costs involved by not putting all efforts into getting our school children back in their NMS classrooms?

Town Response and Coordination
• District 12 asks our First Selectman, Fred Camillo, to play a key leadership role in addressing the scope of this project, and fast tracking the repairs by bringing together on a weekly basis the stake holders: BET, BOE, Key BOE project and facilities administrators, Town Boards that will approve plans, Town departments that will help by sending engineers, architects, town lawyers, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters to aid the BOE in developing plans, NMS PTA, North Mianus Elementary Principal, Fire Department, Police Department as necessary.

• We also ask that following these weekly meetings, updates and a timeline are posted on the Town website. (Example: Refer to the existing template Actions of the Return to School Planning Team: that was created for post Covid return.)

• District 12 asks the BET to fully fund this project. A vote to fully fund the NMS repairs is a vote in support of our children.

Final Comments
These next few months are critical, and require urgency and commitment to getting a budget approved and moving forward with repairs. RTM District 12 believes the BET and BOE must work together to approve funding in full, and get our young students back, together again, at their North Mianus School.

The views expressed do not represent the endorsement of the full RTM.

Signatures:
District 12 – Aaron Leonard, Abigale McCarthy, Andrew Winston, Barbara Hindman, Bob May, Craig
Amundson, David de Milhau, Don Whyko, Ellen Murdock, Francia Alvarez, Fred Lorthioir, Glen Canner, Hajime
Agresta, Jeff Crumbine, Jocelyn Riddle, Mary Flynn, Miriam Mennin, Paula Mickley, Tom Agresta
District 8 – Janet McMahon, Molly Saleeby, Cheryl Moss