Letter to the Editor: Painters Are Covering Up the Problems at Greenacres While Kids Are In School

This letter about the Greenacres School was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Andy Taylor of Walworth Avenue: I have now written and spoken several times to the school board. There is a school board meeting on Monday night that I won't be able to attend and there are rumors that the board is going to continue to punt on making a decision on Greenacres, even after all this time. It is because of this that I write this letter. Importantly, I'm not only speaking on behalf of my family, but a number of other Scarsdale residents (not exclusively Greenacres) who agree with my point of view.

None of these core issues have been addressed during the "pause", so rather than rehash these issues, I copied them below. I write to point out a few things occurring recently at Greenacres.

Below are pictures taken in the last couple of weeks and again today. As you can see below, facilities workers are covering up one of the issues that regularly comes up at such an antiquated facility. Despite a roof that has had its "life extended", the darnedest thing keeps happening. Water leaks from the roof, down through the walls, bubbles up paint, and in this case, paint was scraped off and an ongoing attempt to resurface the walls. This opened up the subsurface, which was left open while students were and continue to be present. This is just the latest example of what you get with a structure that is way past its useful life. It's challenging to keep up the facility and stuff happens while students are present. It's just the reality. We can make all manner of proclamation, but think of the unknown and the exposures that will assuredly happen during a three year renovation, however perfectly planned. Think of the money that will continue to be poured down the drain over the coming decades, trying to desperately hold on to a relic that is over 100 years-old, in a B1 scenario. I don't know what precautions were taken to keep students away from this, but I didn't observe any barriers. Was there any lead paint testing done prior to opening up the walls? I don't know, but I do know that any refurbishment of that facility provides poor value to Scarsdale and puts an undue burden on the Greenacres community, and takes unnecessary health risks with the kids.

If following the "pause" on the elementary school in Greenacres, we end up with anything that resembles B1, not only will this Greenacres resident vote down the bond to finance that ridiculous project. I speak for a large and continuously growing block of Scarsdale residents who plan to do the same. Further, if the school board doesn't step up and do what is right for the kids, and tries to table Greenacres in favor of other capital projects, this same block is prepared to vote down all bonds and budgets until the board steps up. This is truly unfortunate and completely unnecessary, but the school board to date seems more concerned with politics than with their charge, and the community cannot let apathy trump what is best for the village.

Here are observations from my prior email:

B1 Poses a Greater Risk to Children and Faculty
At the meeting the other night, it was inferred that there was no risk to the children. The idea that regulations alone will ensure child safety is quaint. 1) regulations get broken. Well meaning general contractors aren't enough. Nearly all of this work will end up being partitioned down to various subcontractors for the lowest cost. FACT: cutting corners happen on nearly all commercial construction jobs due to speed and/or cost constraints. FACT: even with the best of intentions, accidents can happen. 2) how does anyone know what they are going to find until they start opening up the ceilings, floors, and walls of this very old structure? Ignoring the high likelihood of costly change orders for a minute, once this is all disturbed the risk of measurements that exceed limits in periods beyond the construction goes up. What are the implications if a breach occurs? What is the safety impact? What is the impact on costs? I've read examples of where school facilities are shutdown for a year or more until things get corrected. Spend 5 minutes online looking up asbestos and schools and you will find out like I did that teachers are over index for mesothelioma (asbetos-related cancer.)

Takeaway 1 - the risk of unintended consequences for B1 greatly outweighs C1.

B1 versus C1 budgets
I contacted an unbiased and uninvolved expert in commercial construction to get his views on the relevant proposals. I had no further relayed the choices (new build versus refurbishment of 100 year old building) when he offered up and I quote, ".... refurbished building will be much more difficult to judge how far over budget it could go." The point is there much greater uncertainty on project execution for B1. Then, unprompted he offered up this, "asbestos abatement contractors are really good at letting costs get out of control." When relayed that $285k was budgeted in the proposal for asbestos abatement, he literally laughed out loud and said well that will go way up.

Takeaway 2 - the certainty of C1 being done on time and on budget is significantly higher than B1.

B1 Construction Logistics
During the presentation the other night it became clear how little thought B1 has given to the day to day running of a school during 3 years of construction. So is the plan to march students outside and across the street and then around the active construction a few times each day for specials and lunch? Through in the rain, cold, snow? What sort of distraction to the kids day will this be? Where will all the wet coats and boots go when coming into the main building for lunch for instance?

Takeaway 3 - B1 is going to create very significant unanticipated distractions and burden on kids and staff who will have to navigate a construction site for a big chunk of their tenure at Greenacres School.

Operating and Maintenance Costs of B1 Exceed C1 and Ignore Useful Lives:
The architect acknowledged that a new sustainable design like C1 will have lower operating and maintenance costs although to my knowledge no one has provided an estimate. This ignores the amortization of the upfront capital costs over the useful life (B1 will have a shorter useful life than C1, adjust the upfront costs accordingly). The commercial expert I referenced above gave me some cost estimates for new efficient construction. With that and the guidance that the architect references in the preliminary evaluation last year and again referenced at the meeting last week, one can roughly estimate the costs. Let me help out with the math. If opex savings are as little as $200k lower per year, that is the equivalent of $4mm in upfront costs.

Takeaway 4 - the BOE needs to identify and include operating expenses, maintenance expenses and useful life to make an economic comparison. When this is done, the perceived gap in upfront costs between B1 and C1 will shrink or likely go negative when considering useful life.

A renovation places an unacceptably high burden on the children and community of Greenacres while STILL coming in short of the model program requirements. C1 saves the green and is the only solution offered that provides value to Scarsdale. Put politics aside. It seems that following the revised C1 proposal, the "Save the Green" crowd has thinned out and now opponents to a new school seem to be solely from those who live on adjacent lots and fiscal hawks who don't want to spend any money on anything. Give the children in Greenacres what they deserve and the residents of Scarsdale the value they require.

Andy Taylor
37 Walworth