Small problem now big deal for Lynn school

LYNN – What appeared at first to be a simple broken window at the Sisson Elementary School has led inspectors to a larger structural problem that could cost the city thousands to repair.Speaking to the School Committee Wednesday night, city Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan revealed that a portion of the building is actually moving, causing serious problems to the area near the school’s staircase.School Committee member Vincent Spirito had requested Donovan fix the window several months ago, believing vandals caused the break, but upon closer inspection an engineering report shows that movement of the building actually caused the window to warp and break over time.The school was built in 1956, and Donovan said that engineers and architects at the time simply did not have the knowledge and technology that we do today. As a result, they did not take in to account the natural movement that a structure will experience over time.Many construction materials, including concrete, naturally expand and contract with temperature and moisture changes. The inspection at the Sisson has revealed movement caused an entire stairway façade to shift, causing bricks to pop out, water to seep in and windows to warp and break.”The window broke due to the movement of the building, it actually wasn’t because of vandalism. It warped and eventually that popped it out,” Donovan told the committee. “The problem most likely developed because of the lack of technology and knowledge of moving back in the 1950’s. It could conceivably be a problem at some of our other older schools in the future, too.”Donovan provided an engineering report that suggested the cost of repairs would range between $90,000 and $100,000 as contractors would not only have to replace the window, but also replace bricks and install control joints that would allow the building to move.For now, the city will swap out the broken window with a Lexan replacement that will keep the heat in and the elements out until work can be completed.Donovan said he would not advise beginning the repairs until next summer when students are out of school because the work would be too disturbing to the student’s daily routine.”(The Lexan window) will be unsightly, but it will be weather protected,” said Donovan. “Other than that I wouldn’t do any of the repairs while school was in session because it is a noisy, dusty process. It would just be too disruptive. So we are looking at starting it up next summer.”Superintendent Nicholas Kostan learned of the problems Wednesday, and said thus far, he is most concerned at the potential cost to the city to fix the problem.”We had the broken window over there and Mike had them come in and do the engineering report on it, so we will have to see what we do here,” said Kostan. “I hope the cost isn’t that high, I don’t really want to spend $100,000 to fix a window.”