Newton Schools Undergo New 'Purge' To Meet Safety Codes

NEWTON, MA — It's still technically summer vacation for two more weeks in Newton. But there are a few folks who haven't really left school and you'll find them right about now covered in grime or paint as they push to the end of summer. Custodians and some contractors are at the schools working on getting floors redone, new paint on the walls and old furniture out into dumpsters.

New this year in an effort to ensure the schools are up to inspection standards the district has asked about one-third of the schools participate in a massive clean out of old furniture and items in storage not being used. While Buildings Director Josh Morse said each year the schools are throwing out broken and unusable items, this is a part of a bigger scale in an attempt to work with inspectional services to address clutter and code revisions.

It entails getting rid of old furniture and extra stuff that accumulates and that may not meet current fire codes from basements and boiler rooms and nooks and crannies.

"It's really no different from you and or I cleaning out our attic or basement, and it feels good and it has a ripple effect, when you free up storage space. The feel and flow of the space is just better," said Morse.

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"That's been a new effort... Last time we had a major effort like that I couldn't tell you," he told Patch in a phone interview.

Friday, custodians at a number of the schools were working to toss old chairs, VHS cassette tapes, old-looking planks of wood, and other materials into already full dumpsters out back.

"We're in good shape for a smooth opening. We're finishing up with registration and getting everyone ready, hiring is just about done and buildings coming together," said Superintendent David Fleishman in a phone interview with Patch.

"I really should congratulate the custodial team. They've been working hard to get everything ready. This was not an easy summer with the weather given the weather in terms of work, given that there's no AC in many of the schools," he said.

Fleishman said custodians have been working overtime to get the schools ready.

Morse said Newton's buildings department has checked off a little more than 800 work orders or "to do" summer projects, including everything they committed to at the start of the summer - from HVAC work to maintenance of issues that popped up during the year.

What's left following the finish of the mega purge? Morse said custodian teams and contractors are working on projects that range from replacing flooring, where they'll rip up old carpet and put new tile down to a lot of painting projects.

If you're a parent or guardian of a child in school, watch those inboxes for the official welcome back letter, said Fleishman who said he's also working on his welcome speech for faculty. Speaking of which, the superintendent said there are more than 100 new teachers this year. Student numbers are expected to stick close to the 12,750 the city saw last year, he said. But there won't be an official number until October as registration continues, according to the superintendent.

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Photos by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff