Burst Toll Gate pipe underscores cascade of school deficiencies

It was the new – if a heating system installed in the early 1990s is new – that failed during the recent cold snap, bursting a sprinkler pipe and closing Toll Gate High School on Jan. 8.

And, ironically, it was the failure of that “new” rooftop heater in the Robert Shapiro Center for the Arts that resulted in the freezing of pipes in a heating system installed when the school was built 20 years earlier.

Steve Gothberg, director of school building and grounds, described the sequence of events on Friday. When the comparatively new heater failed, the air exchanger portion of the unit continued to operate. Now it was pumping in cold air that dipped to single digits on Saturday and Sunday. That froze the sprinkler line, splitting it.

The leak was quickly discovered early Monday as students started arriving at school. The school was closed for the day and the school crew went to work mopping up the mess when they were in for the second surprise.

Hot water pipes from the older system, which remained operational during the freeze, couldn’t take the cold introduced by the failure of the newer system. Now more water gushed into the newer portion of the school.

“It just couldn’t keep up,” Gothberg said of the older system.

Veterans Junior High also experienced a frozen pipe that was near an overhead door in the shop area. Gothberg said a narrow opening between the door and the casing was enough to let in frigid air and freeze the pipe. Fortunately, when the pipe burst, the water flowed under the door and outside instead of into the school.

Gothberg said the seats at the Shapiro auditorium can be salvaged, but the carpeting and flooring has to come out. Stage flooring will also need to be replaced. The ceiling will need to be painted, as well. He said the plan is to concentrate on the auditorium with hopes of having it usable by April. Crews will then turn their attention to the music classrooms outside the auditorium.

Gotherg said the department’s insurer, Interlocal Trust, is overseeing the project. He could not provide cost estimates.

In the opinion of Superintendent Philip Thornton, the incident is all the more reason why the city needs to move ahead with an $85 million bond issue to address school building deficiencies over the next five years.

With the forecast of heavy rain on Friday night, Thornton said school crews worked to clear snow from roof drains at Lippitt and John Brown Schools, where there are known leaks. Tarps were used to cover interior sections of both buildings.

Also, he pointed out that precautions were taken at Holliman School when it became apparent that, due to a frozen drain, water was seeping back into the school boiler room. He said a person was stationed at the school, incurring overtime costs to the department, to ensure the drain was open.

As for the roofs at Lippitt and JBF, Thonton said, “These are the problems we face with older schools. It shouldn’t be like this. You can’t patch these [the roofs]; they’re beyond their useful life.

Roofs for both buildings would be addressed if the $85 million bond issue is approved by the City Council, which must happen in order for the General Assembly to approve the referendum and place it on the November ballot. The council considers the bond proposal at a special meeting Jan. 22. The School Department must submit its plan to the state Department of Education by Feb. 1 in order to be eligible for state funding that could be as much as 50 percent of projects. If placed on the ballot, the final say will then be up to the voters.