Asbestos discovered under warped Fitch gymnasium floor
Austintown school officials still expect Fitch High School's main gymnasium to be back in service by mid-October, even though asbestos was discovered in the facility in the midst of water damage repairs.
Austintown school officials still expect Fitch High School's main gymnasium to be back in service by mid-October, even though asbestos was discovered in the facility in the midst of water damage repairs.
The gym floor has been torn up since early June when a pipe burst in the nearby girls' restroom, causing the floor to warp.
Since the building is nearly 50 years old, superintendent Vincent Colaluca says the district must test for asbestos during construction.
Results from testing measured asbestos levels at 10 percent in the padding adhesive beneath the floorboards, which is cause to replace the entire floor, according to Malvern Culp, the Supervisor of Grounds and Facilities for the school district.
That project is expected to take months.
Environmental Protection Services in Girard will be sealing off the gymnasium for an asbestos abatement, which Culp says could take up to two weeks to complete.
The installation of the new floor will create scheduling conflicts for Austintown athletics, as the process will take months to finish.
The entire floor needs to be torn out, including the areas beneath the gym's two sets of large bleachers.
The district is hopeful the gym will be ready on Oct. 15, just in time for basketball season.
However, the volleyball team takes court during the construction time and will be affected by the floor installation.
Culp says the team will instead play its games at the middle and intermediate school facilities, which have regulation sized courts equipped for volleyball.
All other sport activities will be held in the smaller gym at the high school, as well as the other four gymnasiums within the Austintown campus.
The cost for the asbestos abatement is estimated at $95,000 and another $240,000 for the new flooring.
Those costs, according to Culp, are fully covered by the school's insurance, excluding deductible.
Colaluca said even though the problem with the gym floor is being handled, he's still concerned that the source of the problem is not being solved.
He told 21 News in earlier reports that the district is consulting an architect regarding estimates to prevent further pipe bursts.
