The Newman Elementary School Renovation Project is intended to address serious, immediate needs affecting health and safety conditions at the school in a manner that is consistent with sound long-range planning. The Town of Needham has an established capital planning process that has included the development of two comprehensive master plans over the past decade (Kaestle Boos, 2000 and DiNisco, 2006). This planning effort includes both municipal and school buildings. The Town’s five-year capital improvement plan is updated annually, and includes the identification of long-range projects. The Town’s current configuration of schools includes five K-5 elementary schools. The Newman School, which also includes the Town-wide Integrated Preschool Program, NEDP and the Science Center, is the largest elementary school with 790 students. The Newman School enrollment represents 30% of the Town’s elementary population.

The Newman School was originally constructed (1961) as a junior high school, and later reconfigured as a middle school. It was closed due to declining enrollment in the 1980’s, and reopened in 1993 as a K-5 elementary school. In the late 1990’s, the Town, with financial assistance from the Massachusetts School Building Assistance Program, invested significant funding to address identified educational and capital maintenance needs at the school.

Newman School is predominately a single story, campus-style structure, of cast in place concrete and brick veneer with weather struck joints, connected by two overhead walk bridges. The capacity of the school is 600 (K-5 presuming full day Kindergarten and that the building houses the Pre-school and the Science Center) according to the Town of Needham Facilities Master Plan completed by DiNisco Design Partnership in 2006; however, the projected population in 2008/09 is 790, including approximately 80 preschool pupils. Building utilization is maximized. There are no spare rooms at Newman, nor is there space for full-day kindergarten in this or any of the Town’s elementary schools. In addition, special and regular education instructional space has been created in any available space at Newman (e.g. hallways, small storage areas).

The 2000 Kaestle Boos Comprehensive Facilities Study indicated problems with the Newman school, including exterior windows, accessibility, under floor duct system, electrical distribution system, fire suppression, interior lighting and finishes. These and other design deficiencies (including subterranean heating and ventilation ductwork which is a factor in the current failure) have been problematic for the facility over the years. In 2008/2009 due to health concerns, investigation of heating and ventilation issues at the Newman School revealed that some sections of the subterranean ductwork have failed entirely, and other elements of the system are past their useful life and at risk of failure.

In April 2008, SEi Engineering was contracted by the Town of Needham to conduct an analysis of the heating and ventilation system serving the East Wing of the school. The heating system is a two pipe, low-pressure steam system with gravity returns to a condensate receiver. Steam is produced by oil-fired steam boilers. Air is distributed through an under floor duct system. SEi’s analysis revealed that the underground duct system (submerged in the concrete slab beneath the building), which is approximately 48 years old, has exceeded its useful life, is deteriorating and the building design makes it inaccessible for repairing ductwork. The deteriorating system was allowing dirt and particulate matter to leak into the duct system, which was then blown into occupied zones when the system was in operation. Videotapes made of the underground duct system during the previous cleaning and scoping process showed breaches of the duct system, duct deterioration, cracks, corrosion and dirt within the duct system. Additionally, the mechanical/electrical system has experienced significant problems over the years which have affected the school as a whole as well as the heating and ventilation system.

Given the age of the system, difficulty in obtaining replacement parts, and inaccessible location of the ductwork within the concrete slab beneath the school, SEi recommended that the entire heating and ventilation system be abandoned and replaced with a new, interior, over-head system.

SEi Engineering, Inc., provided an initial, preliminary estimate of the cost of replacing the entire HVAC system to be in the range of $15.5 to $20.5 million. While actively investigating both current and long-term solutions for problems identified at the Newman School, the Town has also been engaged in contingency planning for the potential need for immediate relocation of the children.

Since 1991, a number of periodic repairs have been done to the school. However, each of these repairs was done in ”spot fashion” meaning that the work was done to remedy an immediate issue or concern and was not done in a holistic manner or with a view to the long-term needs and usage of the facility.

Below is a list of some of the repairs, in chronological order, which the Town has addressed at the Newman School:

1991 – Architectural/engineering design to re-open Newman School as an elementary school.

1992 – Renovation work completed, related to re-opening Newman as an elementary school, including: fire alarm installation, emergency lights, sinks, creation of a new media center, tile, carpeting, painting, repairs to bridges and code compliance.

1993 – Newman School opens as an elementary school.

1994 – Debt exclusion override for Newman School fails (2,280-2,509.)

1994 – Asbestos abatement and critical repairs on the heating and ventilation system.

1995 – Emergency heating and ventilation work

1996 – HVAC repairs to replace failure of boiler room condensate system, due to leaking underground piping, running between boiler room and the rear building condensate pit, and uneven heat distribution coming from the fan rooms.

1996 – Educational modifications, ADA improvements, window replacement, electrical and other repairs.

1997 – Electrical system repairs, including voice/ video/ data network, interior lighting.

2002/03 – Design/engineering and construction to renovate portion of West Wing as Preschool, including the installation of air conditioning.

Periodic repairs of sections of the roof, the last of which were made on the roof of kindergarten classrooms section in 2008.