SCRANTON — The Scranton School District must complete extensive repairs to the fire sprinkler system at Scranton High School.
Leaking pipes in the school office earlier this year led the district to begin a full review of the system, installed during construction 20 years ago. The review by K&K Fire Protection Enterprises found close to 400 deficiencies — 90 which needed immediate repair.
The district has already spent $38,000 on repairs, Paul Dougherty, director of secondary education/technology/operations, told members of the school board during their work session tonight.
Insurance will not cover the repairs, and the company which installed the system is out of business. Dougherty said he would try to find the original plans for the school to see if contractors used the correct materials.
Fixing all of the deficiencies could cost as much as $250,000, and replacing the entire system could cost $2.5 million, he said. The district, in financial recovery, has little money for repairs.
“No matter what we do, this will be a very high number,” Dougherty said.
Most of the corrosion and leaks happened at joints. Before making any decisions, the district must determine what caused the problems, he said. Officials said the district will likely test the pipes and the water contained in the system.
In other business tonight, the district announced report cards sent home earlier this month were free of errors. The statement drew applause from the audience. Numerous errors last year included Scranton High’s valedictorian receiving a GPA of 0.0 on her report card.
District staff cleaned data in the system, gave access to specific people in each school for grade input and started professional development for the student information software. Dougherty said he even hand-calculated 1,000 GPAs to ensure accuracy.
“We’re just thrilled they’re correct,” Superintendent Melissa McTiernan said.
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