PEABODY — The future is bright for the new Higgins Middle School, but maybe a little too bright first thing in the morning.
The $90 million school has gotten mostly rave reviews from students, staff, and parents since it opened in 2016. However, the issue of tint on the windows, especially in the gym, has been an ongoing concern over the past year.
“The tinting of the windows in the gym has been a concern,” said Beverley Ann Griffin Dunne, a school committee member. “We’ve asked the project manager to speak with the company that installed the tinting to see if they can make it darker.”
The major issue tends to be in the early mornings in the gym, particularly in the winters when the sun is lower in the sky while students are using it. Last winter, Dunne also brought up the issue of the students battling solar glare in the gym while playing sports.
“There is allegedly a layer of tinting on the windows, so we are looking to see if it can be further enhanced,” said Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. “It is pretty powerful going through the gym in the early mornings.”
Installing shades in the gym has been suggested, said Dunne, but she added that option would likely be costly.
“Shades in the gym would prove to be difficult,” she said. “They would be very costly because they would require an electric motor because of the location of the windows.”
The project manager for the school is in talks with the contractor to do something about the situation, Dunne said.
“Lots of members of the public are frustrated,” she said.
While the tint situation is being addressed, it should be an easier fix for a concern that could plunge the gym into darkness.
School committee member Joseph Amico requested that the contractor put a cradle around the light switches at the entrance to the gym. He said all the lights in the gym could be shut off at the same time if someone accidentally bumps into the open switches.
“It can pose a risk, especially during night practices and games,” he said.
Dunne said that the light switch cradle is one of the many punch lists items that will be addressed soon by the project manager.
