School board approves lights plan

WINSTED — Replacement of Pearson Middle School’s emergency lighting system has moved one step closer to completion after the Board of Education approved the upgrade’s final plans last week.

The project, which was unanimously approved by the school board at its special meeting July 20, includes replacing 250 emergency lights and exit signs throughout the school.

Problems with the school’s emergency lighting system became apparent in March, after an inspection by Fire Marshal Bill Baldwin found that many of the lights did not work. This led to the cancellation or rescheduling of most after-school activities at Pearson for more than two weeks.

In addition, in order to address student safety concerns in the event of a power outage, the district was required to keep a firefighter on duty at the school for several days, until emergency repairs were completed.

The entire lighting project is expected to cost $128,751, according to plans developed by the Hamden-based engineering firm Silver/Petrucelli & Associates.

To fund the labor and purchase the parts needed to bring the entire system up to code, the town will use a portion of the $600,000 that had been set aside to address Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance issues at the school.

School officials have said the cost of work on the ADA project has been much lower than originally expected, so funds remain in the account to help the town offset a significant portion of the cost of the emergency lighting work.

Also, the project is expected to be eligible for at least partial reimbursement from the state.

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