Warmth Returns to McAlister Intermediate School

It may have been a little chilly at the McAlister Intermediate School Monday morning, but it didn't last long.

By noon, the furnance had resumed its normal function and the school's temperature began to rise.

Over the weekend, the rain and warmer temperatures caused snow to melt and water to leak into the oil tank that feeds the school's heating system, according to a letter McAlister Principal Karen E. Carpenter and Assistant Principal Jack Ferraro sent home to families.

Neither Carpenter nor interim Superintendent of Schools Mary Greenlaw-Dixon could be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Because of the water, the oil burner continued to misfire and the building's furnance did not operate properly. For this reason, the temperature in most classrooms was below normal Monday morning, the administrators wrote in the letter, which is also posted on the school's Web site. 

"Please know that while this was a chilly start to our day, classroom instruction went on as planned as many of the students wore their coats in the classroom," the administrators wrote in the letter, adding that portable heaters were used in the coolest classrooms during the morning.

School Board Chairwoman Mary Roy said Monday afternoon that the temperature did not drop below the required minimum, and had it the school would have been closed.

Carpenter and Ferraro credited the school facilities department staff, particularly Bob Bissonnette and Larry Plano, with immediately addressing the issue and for keeping the building and central office staff abreast of what was happening throughout the day. 

Bissonnette and Plano had hired outside professionals to to repair the heating system, begin removing the undisclosed amount of water from the tank Monday afternoon and take preventative measures to keep water from leaking into the system again, according to the letter.

In addition, because of the weather, Carpenter and Ferraro wrote that school officials have asked for more tests to be conducted to affirm the structural integrity of the roof over the gymnasium, which is the largest section of the school's roof.

No classes were held in the gym or stage area on Monday; physical education classs were conducted elsewhere. No further information was available about the condition of the roof or how long the section of the school will remain closed.