SCARBOROUGH – The Scarborough Town Council last week approved the use of $150,000 to remove and replace asbestos-containing windows from a number of classrooms at Wentworth Intermediate School.

The new windows, said Todd Jepson, director of facilities for the Scarborough School Department, will allow for better air circulation in the classrooms. The windows have been kept shut since August, when the replacement of windows in the north wing of the building disturbed asbestos, a material that can increase the risk of certain kinds of cancer at high intensities. However, that has brought complaints of hot and stuffy classrooms.

Subsequent air quality tests conducted by Northeast Test Consultants and most recently the Maine Division of Safety and Environmental Services have indicated no health risk to students, staff and teachers.

“It is important for the public to know we are following all the recommendations we have heard from the state,” Jepson said. “So far our air quality tests have been acceptable in occupied spaces. We will continue to test to make sure it remains that way.”

The work to replace the windows is not expected to impact instruction in the classroom since the work will be done when school is not in session, most likely during a school break.

The plan, Jepson said, is to have the windows ordered by Oct. 25 for delivery in six to eight weeks, and have them installed over the winter break.

In approving the funds, the council followed a request by the school board to use funds leftover from capital improvement projects approved in 2008. The funding includes $105,310 from the Blue Point parking and water main project, $8,604 from the districtwide asbestos floor abatement fund and $37,578 from the districtwide fire alarm system renewal fund.

“In my three years on the council and nine years on the Planning Board this is the easiest decision I have ever had to make,” Councilor Mike Wood said at a special Town Council meeting last week in addressing the school board. “I certainly support this. You are not asking for any more money from the town or Town Council. You have found a way to fund it yourself.”

While the new windows are a temporary fix to the problem, they are not expected to be a permanent solution to the issues at the aging school. Four years ago town voters overwhelmingly rejected a $55 million plan that included $38.3 million tp rebuild the school, which was built in the mid 1960s.

“This is just a stop gap until we either get a new school or can replace all of the windows,” Jepson said.

“It’s something we have to move forward on. I certainly hope this is the first step toward either renovating or completely replacing the school,” said Judy Roy, who presided over the meeting in Chairwoman Carol Rancourt’s absence. “We have put significant money into Wentworth over the last five years when we did not have taxpayer approval to rebuild the school. It’s come to crunch and some hard decisions have to be made [regarding the future of the school].”

Per state recommendation, Jepson said, earlier this week the school conducted a test for mold levels, considered another issue in parts of the school, in four classrooms and a hallway in each of the four wings of the school. The cost $1,500 per wing, or $6,000 total, will be coming out of the schools facilities budget.

In terms of solving the asbestos issue, Jepson said the company hired to remove the windows, Northeast Test Consultants, and the company to replace the windows, Portland Glass, met last week. Jepson said one window would be removed this weekend, so measurements can be taken before ordering the remaining 27 windows. The window opening, he said, will be weather sealed until the new window arrives.

The Scarborough Town Council last week approved the use of $150,0000 to replace 28 windows at Wentworth Intermediate School, which has been plagued with air quality issues. (File photo)