School Department responds to safety hazards at East School, and more school news
Published on October 18th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - The East School at 12 Beacon St. is going to be abandoned.
The Visiting Nurse Association of Middlesex-East is moving out Oct. 31, and the School Department has no immediate plans for the building beyond storage.
The VNA has been in the former elementary school since 1983. A month ago Selectmen formed a committee to investigate possible uses for the building, but — as School Committee Chairwoman Jeanne Craigie has repeatedly pointed out — the School Committee controls the East School, not Selectmen.
During negotiations to get the VNA out, school officials argued that the School Department needed the building.
"We may need this space for classrooms while our school building project is in progress," Superintendent Joe Connelly said at the Oct. 12 School Committee meeting. Stoneham is one quarter through rebuilding four elementary schools.
Neighbors who have lobbied long and hard to toss the VNA out wanted to know who is responsible for hazards in and around the building.
The new Director of School Operations, Greg Zammuto, said the School Department will have to spend $1,500 to drain the water pipes, $50 for electricity to maintain outside security lights and internal lights for weekly safety checks, $600 for heat to prevent interior walls and floors from cracking, and $525 for boards and nails to seal the building.
But neighbors had a few items to add.
"You see this fire escape has a broken third step," said Rob Coles of 19 Beacon St., digital photo in hand.
Matthew Bialock of 5 Beacon St. showed the committee a photo of a hole on the basketball court.
Zammuto said he has an appointment to walk the site with Stoneham Building Inspector Gene Argiro on Tuesday.
"According to the settlement, the VNA has to leave the building in the condition they received it," Connelly said.
Section 6 (i) of an agreement signed in June of 1999 by the School Department and VNA states that "the tenant...leave the premises...in as good, clean and safe repair, order and condition as the same were at the commencement of the Agreement Term..." Section 6 (j) requires the tenant "keep the Premises equipped with all safety appliances so required..."
School Committee member Marc Grimaldi asked if the School Department could act sooner than Tuesday.
"We'll get on it tomorrow," Connelly said.
As of noon Friday the fire escape steps were fixed and the hole was filled.
Central School
As of last Thursday only two loads of arsenic contaminated soil from behind the Central School site remained in temporary storage at the Stevens Street Dump. The rest is already at its final destination in Wilmington.
Most of the soil contaminated with petroleum byproducts is gone, also off to Wilmington. And the old asphalt has been carted away to Maine.
Steel for the new school is expected to arrive at the end of the month.
The foundation is mostly complete.
The fencing is running behind schedule.
Flansburgh Associates, architects for the project, are working on a plan to remediate the final contaminated areas. This work will occur after school concludes in June.
South School
All are welcome to come celebrate the dedication of the South School at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Summer Street grounds.
Shuttle parking will be available at Rec Park.
Special education
Stoneham Director of Pupil Personnel Bob McArdle explained the dynamic state of special education in Massachusetts.
State law has changed standards and procedures for identifying who should receive special education resources and instruction.
Previously children with emotional distress were eligible for special education. If the child seemed to have problems, special education administrators and psychologists went right to work figuring out a way to help.
But now a specific disability must be identified. And although children who are "severely emotionally disturbed" qualify for special education, children who are "socially maladjusted" do not. On its face this sounds absurd, but McArdle acknowledged that the change may make sense.
Searching first for a specific disability involves identifying a problem which manifests in different contexts. For example, is a child unable to control violent urges at all times, or does he just get into a lot of fights at school?
If a child is always violent, he may have a chemical imbalance, a specific disability. This means the kid is disturbed and eligible for special education under state law. If the child fought at school but was calm at home, further investigation could reveal that he was an only child with no concept of sharing or not getting his way.
Programs will not change for Stoneham students already in the system, McArdle said, but in the future evaluations will comply with state law.
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