Student Parking Temporarily Banned at GHS at Start of School Year

School officials revealed during Thursday's Board of Education meeting that students will not be allowed to park their cars at Greenwich High School at the start of the school year due to a project to remove contaminated soil from the back parking lot and playing fields.

In an update on the project released Thursday, school officials said parking will be restricted for staff only, until the rear parking lot is "restored." That is estimated to take another three to four weeks, school officials said.

"Plans have been developed to ensure bus capacity and to enhance traffic control measures," the report states. "If eligible for transportation, please encourage students to take the bus in order to avoid a back up in drop off and pick up lines. If you must drive your children to school, please allow extra time. The start of the school day will NOT be delayed because of traffic."

And if students are thinking about other places on private property where they can park, school officials say forget about it.

"Please note that parking on private property without permission will result in ticketing and/or towing. Parking on Hillside Road along the school property is permitted parking only and is restricted for staff."

Citing that safety is of utmost importance for the District, interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roger Lulow asked at the first Board of Education meeting of the school year: "How are we going to move forward?"

Lulow said "safety was the objective of [school] administration and the Board of Education." He went onto explain that the air quality both inside and outside of Greenwich High School was being monitored daily, and that there was "no evidence that environmental standards were not being met."

Lulow said that it is "safe for students for students and staff to begin school" next week.

Lulow characterized the situation as "an evolving process," stating that on Tuesday morning there was talk about closing the middle school
intramural program all together, due to the closure of GHS athletic fields. The middle school and high school sports programs are being asked to be flexible as the district determines next steps.

Right at the start, the Board of Education had to jump into its latest crisis: the discovery of PCBs under the Greenwich High School playing fields.

During the process of expanding the parking behind GHS as part of the MISA project, which will bring a new auditorium and music facility to the school, contractors uncovered “questionable” soil which, upon further testing, was discovered to contain PCBs.

As explained during meetings and in a series of communications with parents and the press, the contamination may have stemmed from the original landfill process which occurred close to 40 years ago.

PCBs, chemical compounds used in a variety of everyday substances such as inks, flame retardants, paints and other surface coatings, was considered “safe” until the late 1970s when environmental studies were undertaken and controls imposed.

At Thursday’s meeting, Leslie Moriarty, Board of Education representative on the MISA Building Committee, and Bob Brady, RTM Representative on the committee, provided an update on the project. 

They noted that the project had previously gone through significant review by various town oversight committees and that none had found any issues with its permit process or testing regime, a concern
that has been raised by some.

Lulow explained that access to the fields will be limited through a series of small walkways and access points. Currently, access has been given to the main stadium and permission has been sought for fields away from the main area of concern.

The district, led by the MISA Building Committee, has had an environmental specialist, DTC, perform a series of tests on the fields. This includes deep core sampling, which entails taking samples from approximately 5 feet down as well as surface testing. 

Results from air monitoring both outside and inside the high school have shown no presence of PCB in the air. The deep core sampling will take approximately 4-6 weeks to test and complete. As explained by Moriarity, the short term focus was determining whether the construction and discovery of the PCBs posed any health concerns to the public. Results to date indicate that there is no danger.

The board discussed the possibility that the discovery of the toxic soil may result in significant financial exposure to the district and the town. The critical questions being asked were: who has authority over rectifying the situation and who has financial responsibility for dealing with the issue?

Steve Anderson, chairman of the BoE, said he has been in continuous contact with related Town bodies such as the BET and the Board of Selectmen. To date, no agreement has been reached as to ultimate authority or financial responsibility — but a “crisis team” comprised of members of various town departments has been working together to deal with issues.

When discussing the impact of losing access to the playing fields, Lulow and Anderson explained that the district has focused on leveraging the Middle School fields in order to find adequate field time for high school teams.

Lulow explained that while usage of the fields by GHS athletes may result in middle school students not having access to certain fields, that he was hopeful to ensure that the opportunity for middle schools still available on a slightly altered timetable.

Lulow indicated that the administration hoped that some semblance of normalcy, regarding use of the fields, will be achieved by the end of September.

As far as student parking goes, the District has communicated to parents that students must utilize the GPS bus system. Additional buses will be stationed on both the east and west end of town during the next week so that additional capacity will be available on any route, if so needed.

Moriarity explained that despite the environmental issues, MISA continues to move forward with its planning process and is focused on reaching the next phase of the project. Lulow highlighted that the primary focus is on determining the extent of the contamination and then, what remedial steps must be undertaken.

The interim Superintendent stressed that the level of coordination and cooperation across Town departments has been exceptional. 

A concern raised by both PTAC and GHS PTA Presidents during the Community Comment section of the meeting was the need for extensive communication to parents and the rest of the community. 

And noted by the GHS PTA co-presidents, inconveniences are tolerated if parents understand the reason behind such.

Lulow vowed to maintain constant communication.

School officials will be providing updates on the project during a special meeting at 7 p.m., September 7, at Greenwich High School, and the public is invited to ask questions.

Thursday's Board of Education meeting will air on Channel 78 next week and will be available to view on-line on the District web site beginning on Friday, August 26, after 2 p.m.