State Treasurer Steve Grossman said the state will partner with the two communities to get schools repaired as soon as possible.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:30 this afternoon.
Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman, left, chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and Springfield Superintendent of School Alan Ingram walk down a second floor hallway of the Elias Brookings School at 367 Hancock St. To the right is a wall that was blown into the hallway during last week's tornado.WESTFIELD – The state’s School Building Authority Wednesday gave assurance to Springfield and Westfield city and school officials that financial help is forthcoming to assist in repairs to four schools damaged during the June 1 tornados.
“We at the Massachusetts School building Authority are here to partner with Springfield and its three schools, along with Westfield and it’s Munger Hill School to assist as necessary in repairs. We are a partner in every step of the way to get kids back into their schools as soon as possible,” said state Treasurer Steve Grossman, MSBA chairman.
“We have a moral and fiduciary responsibility to assist communities,” he said.
MSBA director Katherine Craven said despite storm damage, the building authority has some $750 million in “projects underway now and the storm has caused no delay in any project.”
Craven, Grossman and MSBA staffers toured damage Thursday at Springfield’s Elias Brookings Elementary School on Hancock Street and the Mary Dryden Elementary School on Surrey Road, both closed for the year due to serious tornado damage. In Westfield, they toured Munger Hill Elementary School that lost a section of roof in the storm.
They also drove by the former Alfred G. Zanetti School on Howard Street in Springfield’s South End, also damaged by the tornado. Zanetti closed in 2009. Some city officials have talked about possible using the building for “swing space” during future renovations and construction at other schools. In Springfield, Grossman and Craven said they found conditions worse than they had imagined.
At Brookings, Principal Terry Powe was moved to tears as she looked over the damage.
“It’s a bit much,” Powe said. “It’s hard to walk back through here. It’s so badly damaged.”
After the Westfield tour, Craven instructed staff to work towards expediting estimates, bids and funding to assist in the repairs.
In response to Mayor Daniel M. Knapik’s request to consider an entire new roof replacement at the 20-year-old Munger Hill School, Craven suggested it may be possible.
The school lost some 20 feet of steel roof, over two kindergarten classrooms in last week’s storm. That steel plate was carried by the tornado an estimated 300 feet and dumped into an inground swimming pool at the home of Thomas W. Humphrey.
Knapik said “it would be feasible to consider replacement of the entire roof rather than just patching it and then replace it within the next few years because of the age of the building.”
Springfield and Westfield officials were told to file emergency ‘Statements of Interests’ with MSBA for the necessary repairs.
After viewing damage, Grossman said “to see this devastation up front I can only imagine the emotional upheaval this has caused. We see city, community and the region coming together. People helping their neighbors and we are partners also.”
MSBA provides state funding for school construction and renovation projects.
“No one can believe the scope of the damage,” Craven said. “It’s absolutely devastating to look at the damage the tornado has caused.”
“It is more significant than I expected,” Grossman said. “We are here for the people of Springfield. We are here for the people of the Pioneer Valley. the devastation is clear and it has to be dealt with.”
The authority’s Board of Directors was also on the tour, driven from site to site by a Peter Pan bus. The board moved its regular meeting to Westfield State University.
Springfield’s Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram and some members of the School Committee, City Council, and local legislators also took part in the tour.
Joining Knapik were Westfield City Councilors Peter J. Miller Jr. and Brent B. Bean II along with School Operations Director Frank B. Maher Jr.
Maher said he is awaiting cost estimates for Munger Hill School repairs. He said the School Department has insurance on the building but that includes a $50,000 deductible.
Staff writer Peter Goonan contributed to this report.