Montclair School Sees Roof Issues, 2 Classrooms Closed

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The hits keep coming for Montclair’s aging public school buildings in 2018, which have seen a staircase collapse, repair complications due to asbestos and as of this week, cracked timber roof trusses, officials said.

On Tuesday evening, families of students at Glenfield received notice that workers found “cracks and splits” in a pair of large timber roof trusses in the south attic area of the school, Baristanet reported. (Read the full letter here)

As a precautionary measure, officials said that they will temporarily close rooms 336 and 337 until the condition of the trusses can be assessed, and a plan for providing an “adequate repair schedule” can be made.

Glenfield isn’t the only school in Montclair to see significant structural issues in 2018.

At the beginning of the school year, 31 classrooms at Montclair High School had to be closed when a staircase collapsed. Nobody was injured during the Sept. 7 incident, but officials decided to temporarily close MHS for students and staff so workers could analyze the structural soundness of each staircase at the school.

Previous work on the collapsed staircase was done in 2016, but it was determined the staircase would be “sufficient if repaired, officials said. (Story continues below)

• See related article: Montclair HS Staircase Collapses, Officials Close School
• See related article: Montclair School Reopening Pushed Back After Staircase Collapse

On Sept. 15, district officials provided some information about the collapse and resulting closures in a FAQ update, which can be seen here.

According to administrators:

• “Due to the one compromised staircase in the original portion of the Main Building, [Superintendent Kendra Johnson] requested that each of the remaining staircases in the original portion of the Main Building be assessed. At that time, it was determined that the staircases could not be cleared for use. Therefore, it was determined that none of the four staircases in the main building should be used.”
• “An evaluation of staircases is not a part of the facilities checklist nor are building structural analysis completed as a normal part of any school district’s annual facilities and maintenance checks.”

As repair work continued on the four affected staircases, Back-to-School night at MHS was canceled, and students were put in temporary classrooms. Administrators announced plans to conduct structural evaluations at each of the district’s public schools.

Later that month, workers encountered asbestos while making repairs at MHS, throwing a monkey wrench into the process and causing a temporary shutdown, administrators said.

On Oct. 31, Superintendent Johnson issued the following update about a new complication at the 104-year-old school: loose tiles.

“Today, we noticed a compromised area on the landing of stair tower 14 and exit 19. The location is the stair tower leading to the second floor science wing (stair tower directly in front of the Restorative Justice classroom). We closed the stair tower immediately.”

When some local families probed for more information about the “compromised area,” Johnson added:

“All I knew was there were loose tiles on the one landing of stair tower #14. I did not know, in that moment, if the issue was contained to only loose tiles. We have examined and confirmed, once again, there are no structural issues with this stair tower. We predict that tiles became loose due to increased traffic. And, yes, we have checked all other tiles.”

Despite “rumors,” there are no plans to close MHS, as repairs will occur during the evening hours and on the weekend, Johnson stated.

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