Deteriorating Yonkers schools need as much as $500 million to fix

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Deteriorating Yonkers schools need as much as $500 million to fix

By DAVID MCKAY WILSON

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THE JOURNAL NEWS-The Journal News.com - Westchester,NY

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Repair funding

The city of Yonkers each year borrows money in the municipal bond

market to finance repairs to city schools. A total of about $41

million has gone to school repairs since 1997.

1997: $500,000

1998: 0

1999: $11.2 million

2000: 0

2001: $7 million

2002: $7 million

2003: 0

2004: $5 million

2005: $5 million

2006: $5 million

Source: Yonkers Mayor's Office

YONKERS — Yonkers' long-neglected school buildings are falling

apart, creating health and safety issues for thousands who report to

school each day. The repair bill, now nearly $500 million, is

mounting every day.

Protective scaffolding just went up around Lincoln High to protect

students from bricks falling off deteriorating masonry. Roof leaks

at Scholastic Academy and Roosevelt High have caused substantial

interior damage. There's a cracked wall and inoperable elevator in

the district's newest school while ventilation systems at Yonkers

Middle/High have left surface mold on ceilings, according to a

report by Cannondesign, a district consultant.

The cash-strapped city of Yonkers has committed an average of $4

million a year for repairs during the past decade. That hasn't kept

up with repairs, leaving the district of 25,000 students and 4,000

employees in numerous buildings in serious need of attention.

Though this year's city budget plan earmarks $16 million to fix

buildings, schools Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio said it's

nowhere near enough. It may not even cover the pressing needs

detailed by Cannondesign.

" We have red-flag issues that have to be dealt with immediately, and

I'm not sure the $16 million is enough to pay for them, " Pierorazio

said.

Many parents are upset by the conditions their children face each

day. At School 21 in south central Yonkers, Kastsaridis said

her daughter rarely uses the bathroom in her kindergarten room, with

its corroded stalls and flaking paint. Down the hall, a garbage can

by one doorway catches water when it rains. " It's really bad, " said

Kastsaridis. " My child deserves a better environment in which to

learn. "

The need for a more aggressive repair program comes at a crucial

time for Yonkers, which serves a student population that's

predominantly minority and low-income. Twelve percent are diagnosed

with asthma, which is exacerbated by damp indoor conditions; one in

five students has asthma in a school that has had a leaky roof for

years.

Delayed maintenance

Since the city's decades-long desegregation lawsuit ended, the

district has emerged as the top academic performer among the state's

big city districts. However, years of delayed maintenance are taking

a toll on its schools, which occupy 3.8 million square feet of space

in 43 buildings that average 65 years old. Five were built more than

a century ago. The oldest, School 5, opened in 1884.

Even Yonkers' newest school, Cedar Place, which opened in 2001, has

problems. The Cannondesign report noted the school's emergency

generator, elevator and many exit lights don't work. There's a major

wall crack in the oil tank room that allows water to enter the

electrical room.

Yonkers Electric Owner Rich , whose firm did the school's

electric work, said the project had a one-year warranty. He said

issues such as the generator and exit light should have been

addressed with routine maintenance. " You need to maintain

generators, you can't let them sit and expect them to run, " he

said. " If the exit lights don't work, you need to replace the

batteries or light bulbs. "

The district plans to hire a maintenance firm to address these

issues, said Assistant City Engineer Carr, who oversees school

construction.

Never enough money

Over the past decade, the city has budgeted about $41 million for

school repairs. The schools have spent $29 million. Eleven percent,

$3.2 million, went to outfit the new Larkin Center administrative

offices. Repairs totalling $8 million are in planning stages, with

$4 million available for new projects, district records show.

This year, Mayor Phil Amicone hasn't committed new funds for school

repairs, relying on $16 million from the state. It's a substantial

increase in capital funding and a good sign for the district, said

Amicone spokesman Simpson. Money traditionally set aside for

repairs will this year be used for other school purposes.

" Is it enough to do everything we want to do? Of course not, " said

Simpson. " It never will be. There will never be enough for the

school or the city. The bottom line is that there's four times more

money this year than normal. "

Leaky roofs

Some of the $16 million will be used to replace roofs so far gone

that plastic containers are essential equipment. At Roosevelt, the

scheduling office had a bucket on a filing cabinet where ceiling

tiles were down and one wall showed extensive damage. Buckets

collect leaking water in some classrooms at Scholastic Academy.

Garbage pails in a Gorton gym double as buckets when the tarpaulin

hung from ceiling hooks fails to collect all the water during heavy

rains.

A 2005 report found that nine of 39 schools had failing roofs with

only a year of useful life remaining. Roof jobs can cost up to $1

million each. The roof at Scholastic Academy on Park Hill Avenue has

leaked for at least six years. Built in 1904, the school serves

about 530 students.

The roof is in such bad shape that a custodian has rigged a

tarpaulin from the eaves to catch some of the leaking water. A

spigot inserted into the tarp's center is hooked to a garden hose

that empties into a barrel, where a pump sends the water through

another hose out a window.

Academy Principal Taren Washington said the roof leaked when she

arrived there six years ago. " And it has gotten worse over the

years, " she said.

In 2004, Education Commissioner Mills came to Scholastic to

celebrate the school's outstanding performance on statewide tests.

He observed students in a science room with large splotches of brown

water stains running down the wall.

By winter 2005, the plaster on that wall had given way, revealing

lathes and wire mesh in a corner barricaded off with boxes. The

district has since repaired the wall, but not the roof above it.

That work won't begin until 2007.

" This is terrible for our kids, " said , walking his first-

grade daughter home from school. " But where are they going to get

the money to fix it? "

Health problems

Leaking bathroom pipes and fixtures have also created potential

health issues for Scholastic students. The Cannondesign report said

that excessive leaks in the bathrooms " are breeding grounds for

mold. "

Mold, which can trigger attacks in individuals who have asthma,

thrives in damp indoor areas, particularly when unaddressed,

according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report.

Twenty-two percent of Scholastic's students have asthma, the highest

percentage in the district, said a 2005 district report.

" If you have asthma, you will have more trouble in a musty school, "

said Dr. Dozor, Westchester Medical Center's chief of

pediatric pulmonology.

Teachers at Yonkers Middle/High have complained about mold for

years. Computer teacher Argylos said there's poor ventilation

in her room. " When the air blows out, it leaves black and fuzzy-

looking mold on the ceiling, " she said. " The mold is there. It is

growing. And it has never been taken care of. "

Cannondesign identified the black substance as mold, but did not

test it. Carr plans to do that. " Hopefully it's only dust, " he said.

In the meantime, replacing the building's ventilation and air

conditioning system could occur next summer. It's one of dozens of

projects Carr wants to fix, if only he had the resources. On a tour

of Roosevelt, he stood in the scheduling office with its missing

ceiling and water-damaged wall.

" We have a room like this in every building we've got, " said

Carr. " It just takes money. "