Phone problems puzzle schools chief

NEWTON FALLS -- Schools Superintendent David Wilson said Monday that he's looking into recent phone troubles plaguing the junior-senior high school and middle-school buildings, and hoping to avoid the same problems in the construction of the district's new elementary school.
Wilson said most phone service in the junior-senior building has not worked since Thursday. An EMBARQ representative told Wilson the problem is not with the service -- but a representative from the hardware installers, Stanley Solutions, said the problem is not with the equipment.
Wilson said he has sent letters to Ricciuti Balog & amp; Partners Architects, designers of the school, notifying them of the problem.
The middle school also has phone service problems, as many extensions do not work. Wilson also said the middle school has small electrical problems, such as lights flickering and bulbs burning out faster than they should.
Ohio School Facilities Commission's planning administrator Jeff Tuckerman is meeting with Wilson this week go through all the new schools to determine a course of action.
Wilson is studying the district's new elementary school more intently during the final phases of construction, in hopes the school's staff won't have to deal with the same problems when moving to the new building from Arlington Elementary. He said all locks and phone service must be completely workable before he allows the staff and pupils to transition into the new building.