NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The halls of Brayton Elementary School are ready for students — the tile floors are shining, the carpets freshly shampooed, the walls painted and the classrooms in stages of preparation.

 

It's a far cry from 70-year-old Greylock Elementary, which feels tired and dingy and decaying.

 

But officials say Brayton's bright and clean exterior hides infrastructure issues that will take millions to fix.

 

"Nice big spaces, lots of storage. Those were the things they were thinking about as this school was being built," said Superintendent Barbara Malkas to a group of 40 or so who took a tour of the building. She noted the layout was very "industrial" and not conducive to the needs of the prekindergarten through Grade 2 children in the building. 

 

"The grade reconfiguration allowed us to use more of the space here, but you'll see when we go downstairs, we have a lot of classrooms that are going to end up becoming storage because they're subterranean and they do not have any windows."

 

The tour of Brayton last week was the second information session held by school officials for the new Greylock School project. Voters will decide on a debt exclusion in October that would allow the $65 million project to move forward and replace the 30-year-old Brayton and the now closed old Greylock. The cost to the city will be about $20 million. 

 

The most pressing issues at Brayton are the heating, ventilation and air conditioning and the need for a stable climate throughout the school; the lack of a sprinkler system (not required when the school was built); electrical system upgrades; natural light; and security issues. With the relocation of the prekindergarten to Brayton, there's also a need for size-appropriate accessible bathrooms.

 

The building has three floors, with the first floor below grade. It has fewer windows and natural light and problems with moisture — including a mold outbreak in one classroom this summer. 

 

"It has been mitigated for mold. All of these rooms on this level were painted this summer," Malkas told the group. "There's no sense of mildew, there's no sense of mold."

 

She said the room was disinfected and mild resistant paint used, and that there are two dehumidifiers running in each room. The district was able to buy additional portable air filtration systems during the pandemic and is increasing the air exchange rate.

 

But, she said, pointing to the original carpets in the hallway, "I would love to say there is no mold or mildew. However, I don't know what's under this carpet, and I'm not really sure I ever want to find out."

 

Maintenance also had to clean up and disinfect mats and equipment in the first-floor therapy rooms last week because of mildew issues, Malkas told the School Committee on Tuesday. She said she is getting a quote for removing the carpet and installing tile. 

 

The discolored ceiling panels have been switched out with new, with some classrooms having the ceilings completely replaced. The sunlit atrium on the second floor and the first floor are often "tropical zones" that raise havoc with the HVAC system. The concrete is spalling around the foundation. 

 

The superintendent credited the facilities department with maintaining the school — keeping it painted, shampooing the three-decade-old rugs every break, and keeping up with patching on a roof that's beyond its lifespan. 

 

The price tag on Brayton just to fix what's wrong is tallied at $45 million, money that won't be reimbursed by the state. An estimate on replacing the outdated HVAC system is $11 million, upgrading the electric $600,000, replacing the roof and skylight $2.6 million, installing a sprinkler system $1.2 million  (not required when the school was built) and replacing the carpeting and asbestos vinyl tiles, $1.4 million. 

 

The two major objections to the project were again raised at this forum: cost to the taxpayers and declining enrollment. 

 

The city's share of $20 million is expected to cost the average homeowner $270 in the highest year of the loan. It was pointed out that the city is still paying off a $7.5 million loan on Colegrove Park Elementary and there is a need for a public safety building. 

 

The Massachusetts School Building Authority has an accelerated repair program but officials thought it would be difficult to get that funding if the vote failed. Attendees pointed to the possibility of grants and waivers for funding. 

 

Enrollment as projected by the Massachusetts School Building Authority is flat through 2030, despite a downward trend previously. Some residents suggested leaving the students in Brayton on the assumption that the number of children will eventually fit into one school. Right now, enrollment is more than 700 at Colegrove Park and Brayton schools, including some 91 in prekindergarten. The Greylock project would be built for 240 children plus the preK. 

 

One attendee asked what would happen if the vote failed. Mayor Jennifer Macksey said the city couldn't fix all the problems at Brayton at once and that its infrastructure and mechanicals are at the end of their lifespans.

 

"We'd have to do it through the school budget piece by piece," she said. "I know some I'll never convince you it's good project but if feel very strongly it's a good project ...

 

 "It's really important we think not about today not about this administration but the future of our kids. I'm encouraged about this project and I think it's the best option moving forward ... I know that there are some people we're never going to change their minds but this is for the children."