Brookfield schools set to fix issues at complex | News, Sports, Jobs

BROOKFIELD — A problem that has plagued the district since the new school complex was opened in 2011 finally will be addressed as uneven floors and walls in the middle school will be fixed.

The center of the middle school wing’s hallway is sinking because of unstable shale in the soil, causing cracking walls and uneven floors.

The board of education approved a resolution to waive competitive bidding and find a contractor to perform slab heave remediation. Superintendent Toby Gibson said the district can do so because the project qualifies as an emergency under the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

The OFCC, the successor to the Ohio School Facilities Commission, was the district’s partner in building the new school complex in 2011.

Treasurer Julie Sloan has said the total estimated cost of the project is $2.3 million, with the school district paying 36 percent and the state paying 64 percent.

Gibson said plans have changed over the past few years with the COVID-19 pandemic causing contractors and supplies to be backed up or hard to find.

Officials indicated they want to get the remediation done soon, starting at the end of the current school year and continuing into fall.

Students and staff have spent the past 10 years walking in hallways, restrooms and a few classrooms at the middle school with uneven flooring.

Gibson, who at one time served as middle school principal, said the floor began cracking in a middle school hallway. Officials have said during construction, shale was exposed and expanded, causing the concrete to lift and crack, elevating parts of the floor.

Gibson said the school district has had numerous engineers and companies come up with remedies and potential costs for repairing the structural problems.

The new K-12 complex was designed and constructed in partnership with the OFCC as a co-funded Classroom Facilities Assistance Program project at cost of $31.42 million. The state’s share was $20.1 million, and the local share was $11.3 million.

The district had hired CTL Engineering of Akron to monitor the movement of the shale and look over a failed 2013 repair attempt.