BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
MONROE -- Lemon-Monroe High School is ready to resume classes Aug. 24 if there are no unforeseen problems with installation of new electric switch boxes.
Power was cut off to the building early Monday as maintenance workers began taking apart a 1950s-era oil switching system that is being replaced in a three-phase electric upgrade.
"We believe we will be in on the 24th," said Wayne Driscoll, superintendent of the Middletown - Monroe Schools. "If by chance Mother Nature does something unforeseen . . . we have calamity days we can use. If we're still not ready, we have the option of generators. We don't think we'd even get to that point."
The first set of switches will be replaced this week and next, the second over Thanksgiving break and the last over the winter holiday. The decision was made to upgrade the electrical system after maintenance workers installed the last fuse in stock to replace one that had malfunctioned just before classes ended for the summer. When officials tried to order additional fuses, they learned the parts were no longer being made.
Equipment custom built by the Square D Company was delivered over the weekend, said Joe DiStaola, business coordinator for the Middletown - Monroe Schools. Over the next several days, each of the five, 1,500-pound switch boxes will be installed.
During the installation, security will be increased, with an officer patrolling the grounds from dusk to dawn. All calls to the building are being forwarded to the district's central office, where staff members are working until power is restored. Outdoor activities, including athletic and band practices, will continue as usual.
The $134,000 upgrade is being paid for by the 1995 emergency levy that was renewed in May.
This is the second emergency project at the school in five months. In April, almost 1,500 square feet of the cafeteria ceiling was replaced after 4-plus inches of rain fell on the flat roof and damaged plaster.
The school was one of five buildings recommended to be torn down and replaced in a January report co-authored by the district's Facilities Committee and Business Education Collaborative. The school was rebuilt in 1949, and some sections date to 1924 and 1936. The building underwent three more upgrades since 1952. A high school has been on the 35-acre site since 1886.
A plan to address the $98 million of repairs cited in the report is being reviewed and a bond issue for some of the work is being studied for 1999, Mr. Driscoll said.
