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Norwalk: As the NHS Screw Turns


by turfgrrl


April 4th, 2008 · 13 Comments

Must have been a construction committee meeting recently because we find more on the construction pace at Norwalk High School in the Hour.

On Wednesday night, Shamas updated members of the Norwalk Facilities Construction Commission on where the renovation stands and where it’s headed. The project, now underway for nearly two years, is slated for completion this August.

At present, contractors are wrapping up Phase 7 of the nine-phase renovation. Phase 7 entails the second floor of A House, which is home to mathematics and special education. On April 11, work will proceed to first-floor B House, which will be home to social studies, Shamas said.

After that, Phase 9 will renovate first-floor A House, which is now home to world languages and will become home to social studies. During summer, renovation will focus on the A and B House offices, the main offices, the existing music wing, and third-floor A House, which is the existing science area. As mentioned, work on the cafeteria will continue during the summer.

According to Gilbane’s latest budget projections, $300,000 in additional needs — outside the original design — have been identified. They include work related to the culinary arts area, the telephone system and refinishing of the main gymnasium floor.In addition to that, potential other unanticipated out-of-scope works totals $964,500. The need for some of that work remains speculative at this point. Other items, such as the addition of a kitchen grease interceptor to meet new state guidelines, and installation of a new chimney, which is estimated to run $85,000, are unavoidable, according to Gilbane.

Early last month, the existing chimney was lifted away in sections after being deemed unsafe. A temporary chimney was installed atop the base section of the old stack. “

“The chimney was really deteriorated and we were afraid of a potential (collapse). We talked about it last month, the costs and everything,” said Mayor Richard A. Moccia, a member of the construction commission. “Obviously, with the building department (determination) and everything, we couldn’t take the risk of having a chimney fall.”

When we last looked at the remaining funds for school renovations, they stood at roughly $6 million. Are we down to $4 because of these cost overruns?

source: The Hour,  Norwalk High enters final stages of overhaul, April 4, 2008

Tags: Education

13 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: As the NHS Screw Turns”



  • 1 Anonymous // Apr 4, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    I don’t think it is the NHS Screw - it is that NHS is getting screwed again. The project seems to uncover something else that needs to be delt with at every turn and there are so many things that weren’t even on the list of things to try and get done. Once the project is done Norwalk tax payers will be aghast at what it looks like - no one will be able to figure out where all the money went.

    Who, from the City of Norwalk, is in charge of this project. Who is overseeing it? Time to get someone to stay on top of it all. The tax payer is getting screwed too.

  • 2 Townie // Apr 4, 2008 at 9:07 pm

    The NHS project is being run and overseen by the City, along with the Norwalk Facilities Construction Commission, the Land Use and Building Management Committe of the Common Council and of course the Common Council itself. Nothing gets approved or authorized unless they say so. They in turn directly hired Gilbane to be the Program Manager, O&G to be the Construction Manager and Fletcher Thompson to be the architects & engineers. All three companies have been collecting a handsome sum of money to run and oversee the project as well. It has been reported in the past that the fees for all three combined represent over 1/3 of the total NHS construction budget……over 33 cents out of every dollar is being spent on them to oversee and run the project.

  • 3 Anonymous // Apr 5, 2008 at 6:54 am

    #1: If you’re looking for a building that is as aesthetically pleasing as BMHS, then you’re right. The difference is that NHS is built very differently than the original BMHS was. The latter building allowed for it to be more radically renovated without compromising the structural integrity of the building. To do such a renovation at NHS would not have been possible without spending far more money than it would cost to build a new school.

    The question to ask is: What facilities does BMHS have that NHS will lack? The answer is: None that will affect teaching and learning opportunities, and that is what should be foremost in people’s minds.

    The real issues that NHS has to face have to do more with the climate of the school and with declining enrollment, which may be due to the school’s climate.

    Then there is the question: Did the city build too large for the number of students there? At the moment, that appears to be the case.

    Give the taxpayers a break.

  • 4 Aunt Bertha // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:08 am

    #2 has it right - They in turn directly hired Gilbane to be the Program Manager, O&G to be the Construction Manager and Fletcher Thompson to be the architects & engineers. -all three combined represent over 1/3 of the total NHS construction budget……over 33 cents out of every dollar is being spent on them to oversee and run the project.

    Some things were not done right at BMHS and the students and staff are noticing that some of the new furnishing are not of long lasting quality like the old building. A lot of up grades were cut and done on the cheap. Also the building has seemed to double in size but we still have the same number of security staff. They can not be everywhere at once and it is starting to take a toll on the building in places where students have done some damage. Like bathrooms and lockers in the hall ways. Maybe some of the classrooms at both high school could be rented out the NCC for classes. Or have some of the elderly groups have meetings/classes. There was a time we had graduating classes of 500+ at both highschools and had Central Catholic up at running at a large student population. People are not having the families of 4-9 children anymore. I don’t know what the answer is, I know that student population does go up and down.

  • 5 Charles the Hammer // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:39 am

    Anonymous #3 writes as if aesthetics have zero effect on “school climate”. Are we all to believe that a school which is left looking like a vast bunker will operate on the same plane with one which properly has aesthetic form follow function? Further, #3 states “The question to ask is: What facilities does BMHS have that NHS will lack? The answer is: None that will affect teaching and learning opportunities, and that is what should be foremost in people’s minds.” Norwalkers know that the reinforced concrete construction of NHS makes renovation difficult, but that is not a justification for a poorly thought out and executed renovation. There is also a rather lengthy disparity in actual facilities between the two schools.

    Appearance cannot simply be written off as a frill. Simple logic tells us that some basic “finish” characteristics need attention. For instance, a project this large should be capped off with a proper, comprehensive paint job. That would include patching and sanding wherever blemishes or damage appear, priming, painting interior and exterior surfaces to match, and doing all trim work. It should also address minimizing the industrial look of exposed conduit and refinishing of doors, shelving and other woodwork. As things stand now, the new additions to the school will not color match the original building, some new floors will butt up to old, discolored ones, and ceilings and interior spaces will remain unpainted. These items, and many others, need public attention or this multi-million dollar rehab will leave NHS, though substantially upgraded, looking like a half-assed, incomplete afterthought.

    If one third of the expense for this project is truly allocated for “managing” the work, taxpayers should cry foul. Nearly all of the work has gone for new infrastructure: windows, boiler, HVAC, phones, wiring, fire alarms, asbestos floor tile removal, etc. This stuff embodies “code upgrades” that are required by law. There will also be some cosmetic improvements in the form of carpeting, lockers, auditorium seats, and other such items.

    With proper oversight, NHS can come out of this work much improved. Norwalkers should make sure that the job is not “shorted” of proper attention to detail during the home stretch. No one would put an addition on their home and neglect to paint or install required fixtures. Inattention to such things now will only grow to be greater expenses at a later time. Is it wise to spend so many millions on hidden infrastructure and leave crumbling sidewalks and tilting lamp posts at the main entrance? The final touches of cosmetic repair like painting and landscaping will actually pay dividends in terms of what “appearance” will convey about our town. Just as the tasteful work at BMHS, and the transformation of the old NHS into a beautiful City Hall embody commitment and respect for public education, so too will a similar finish at the current Norwalk High School. Let’s support those entrusted with stewardship on this important work and insist that the job is done right!

  • 6 Norwalker // Apr 5, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    Someone asked if the facilities are equal between NHS and BMHS. NHS used to have a TV studio. It’s gone but BMHS has a brand new one. Talk about equlity.

  • 7 Anonymous // Apr 5, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    BMHS has a room where a tv studio can be built, and it has some equipment from money the school raised. However, it isn’t operational yet because there was no money in the construction budget to equip it.

    How about the NHS pool?

  • 8 Norwalker // Apr 5, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    They talked about a pool at BMHS when they were first designing it in the late 50’s. When they built NHS the pool was big too small to hold FCIAC competitions there. More poor planning.

  • 9 discipulus Martellus // Apr 5, 2008 at 10:46 pm

    Glad to see you back on the blog, Charles. Norwalk High gets enough flak already for resembling a prison – A house, B house, etc. – the last thing it needs is a short-sighted renovation. I’m gonna get off-topic a bit here, but this digression is long overdue. You are one of the few people who consistently posts reasoned, intelligent, and level-headed responses on this blog. You are right on construction oversight. You are right on Corda’s detachment from classroom reality. You are right when you remind readers of Norwalk students’ potential and (most) Norwalk teachers’ dedication. From the support other teachers have shown you on this blog, it seems like you’re already a leader among your colleagues.

    A subtle contempt for Norwalk’s educational bureaucracy is evident in a lot of your posts. Given your years of experience in the system, I can’t blame you for your disenchantment. As a recent graduate of the NPS, though, I can attest that your no-nonsense, pragmatic approach is exactly what the schools need. Please, please, please: consider becoming an administrator. If you don’t want to leave the classroom, do your best to groom younger, like-minded teachers for administrative positions.

    Whenever I read this blog, I often shudder to think what someone outside of the district would think of the constant complaining and negativity that pervade most of the threads. Then I come across one of your posts, and I’m reassured that at least one sane voice remains.

  • 10 anon // Apr 6, 2008 at 12:35 am

    Thank you Charles the Hammer whoever you are for your assessment. And, those who say ‘give the taxpayer a break’,let me say that the taxpayers who are in the Norwalk High School district have gotten raked over the coals since more of their tax dollars went to the renovation on the BMHS side of town then to their own. The NHS renovation was mostly mechanical except for the science wing (which doesn’t even match the main building)—if you don’t think the way your high school looks and the amenties is has counts, go talk to a Norwalk Real Estate Agent, your property is worth less NHS side of town taxpayers because the schools renovation was done so poorly and everyone knows it won’t be improved again for years. Any future homebuyer will know that too. This can just as easily be all about taxpayers, and property values; the renovations at the districts two key high schools should have been equitable and it wasn’t. The fact that the Board of Ed was run by BMHS side of town people didn’t help.

  • 11 Anonymous // Apr 6, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Is BMHS a more attractive building? Yes. However, the truly serious issues at NHS have nothing to do with the renovation. It’s time that people began paying attention to them because these issues are what have hurt the once-solid reputation of the high school.

    Whatever your feelings about how the east side of the city fared in the renovation project, don’t lose sight of the real problems.

  • 12 Disgusted Teacher // Apr 20, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    How interesting a debate…does the building make the school or does the leadership?

    At this point, the leadership in Lenny Mecca is seriously lacking. Everyone in the building is feeling the neglect of a principal who just does not care about anything. When asked to do something, he responds with he is new and does not know. He spends time in the morning looking out at the arriving buses. During lunch, he sits alone in the cafe. After hours, recently, he was standing outside with his “cool” sunglasses on looking around. I don’t know what he does all day. He is totally divorced from becoming involved in any curricular issues. He does drive bys in the classroom for approximately 10 minutes and then complains every chance he gets to anyone who will answer how lousy the teachers are at NHS. Way to go Lenny–nothing like not supporting your staff. He is Corda’s buddy and nothing is going to be done to get rid of him until the board starts asking questions about what the hell he has accomplished this year.

    The staff did not even get a copy of the school’s growth plan. How’s that for starters. How is the school suppose to improve student performance ? He is an idiot–get rid of him please.

  • 13 Anonymous // Apr 20, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    Disgusted Teacher,

    I surely hope that the building doesn’t make the school because there are excellent schools that occupy very old buildings. I don’t teach at NHS and so I don’t have first-hand knowledge of the principal, but if he is as unengaged as you say, NHS is doomed. What principal talks about how lousy the school’s teachers are? What is he doing to address their performance.

    The BMHS principal is as new as Mr. Mecca, but I have never heard her use that as an excuse for anything. Didn’t the BOE hire Mr. Mecca because he was expected to bring his years of experience to Norwalk?

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