NORTHBOROUGH – Some of the classrooms at Melican Middle School may soon receive air conditioning.
The Public Schools of Northborough went before the Select Board on July 15, seeking American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to fund the Melican Air Conditioning Project.
“This is very timely as the weather has been very hot,” said Superintendent Greg Martineau.
Melican Middle School is the only three-story school in the fleet. Martineau said its second and third floors become “extremely hot” during the beginning of the school year and at the end.
“It is really not conducive for learning. It’s really not conducive for teaching,” he said.
According to a memo from Assistant Superintendent of Operations Keith Lavoie to Town Administrator Tim McInerney, the air conditioning project is part of the school district’s five-year capital plan. He said the current infrastructure doesn’t allow for an all-inclusive solution as the HVAC units are univents that serve individual classrooms.
“A full retrofit of the HVAC system would require significant engineering and further study,” Lavoie wrote.
Lavoie said the school district would support a “short-term solution.”
The school district sought $98,000 to outfit the exterior classrooms on the second floor with window units. Lavoie said the units will allow district staff to control humidity levels and reduce conditions for mold blooms.
Using another school in the district with air conditioning units as a comparison, Martineau estimated that this will generate an approximately 5% increase in energy costs, and the district will look to solar savings to offset the expenses. During Town Meeting in April, voters approved three articles to lease the roofs to solar energy providers for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating a solar facility and entering into a power purchase agreement with solar energy providers.
As of early June, Northborough had about $1.7 million in unallocated ARPA funds. With a deadline of the end of the year to commit the funds, the Select Board prepared a list of projects the members were interested in funding totaling about $320,000 — or the total of $1.7 million divided by approximately five.
The allocation for the air conditioning will come from Select Board member Mike Tietjen’s $320,000.
“We wouldn’t be sitting in this room without that running. To have those kids sitting in those hot classrooms — that’s not fair,” said Tietjen.
