Officials seek cost of repairs to school

More third-graders than anticipated enrolled for classes this year.
By MARY SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield schools officials will get an estimate for repairing the middle school roof.
The two floors at the south side of the building and the gymnasium sustained rain damage Tuesday.
Superintendent Michael Hanshaw said the board will have a contractor, who had done work on the north side of the roof, give the district an estimate.
If the cost is under 25,000, the board can to continue with the work without seeking bids, officials noted.
Rain came through windows in all the classrooms on the top and bottom floor of the school, Hanshaw told the board. He added that some windows were leaking badly. One of the rooms that got wet is the school's new computer lab.
Hanshaw said buckets were put down and floors were mopped up -- some, several times.
Rain also came in three windows in the gymnasium, which was recently repainted and the floor refinished. A metal frame under the windows also needs to be replaced.
Received praise
The district has received a letter of commendation from state Superintendent Suzanne Zellman and the state school board for improvement by 10 points over the past two years in the annual state report card performance index. The district's grades three to eight tested just 1.2 percent away from being scored as excellent.
Hanshaw credited the teaching staff and administrators for working with pupils to help improve scores.
The board also hired Andrea Gentile as a third-grade teacher at Seaborn Elementary, retroactive to Sept. 28. She will be paid a prorated salary of 27,710, based on her classification on the salary scale, which would pay her 31,694 for an entire year.
Hanshaw said more third-graders than anticipated enrolled for classes this year.
Principal Cynthia Mulgrew thanked the superintendent for hiring another third-grade teacher.
There are 85 pupils in the third grade this year, and class sizes had grown to 28 or 29 pupils. The fourth teacher will bring pupil-to-teacher ratios down to 21 or 22 pupils per class.