Tab for air conditioning at Clifton schools could surpass $23M

CLIFTON — The cost to add air conditioning to 19 of the city's schools is estimated at $19 million, according to a recent report.

Toss in necessary upgrades to the schools' electrical systems, and the estimate rises to more than $23 million, officials said. That's just to cool classrooms, not hallways or common areas.

Nor does the estimate account for various elements such as architectural and engineering costs. That could add 20 percent to the overall cost, officials said. Clifton's annual school budget is about $170 million.

It wasn't welcome news, but that's what Board of Education members were told Wednesday in a report delivered by DiCaro Rubino Architects, which had been commissioned to study the matter.

Air conditioning the schools has been an issue for years. All four school board candidates in November pointed to the lack of air conditioning in most of the district's classrooms as a serious issue, espcially for students with special needs.

While School 17 and the High School Annex are air conditioned, the bulk of the district classrooms are not, adminstrators said.

Some have window units, which are installed when a student with a medical condition has an individualized education plan that requires it.

The board, however, has been looking for a way to bring air conditioning to all classrooms.

It was estimated that to provide air conditioning to the high school would cost about $4.1 million, plus $400,000 for electrical upgrades.

For Christopher Columbus Middle School, the cost would be $2.2 million. The electrical service there has already been upgraded.

Board of Education Commissioner Lawrence Grasso said he would like to see the electric service done first. There's enough in the district's capital reserve, about $8.1 million, to pay for the electrical upgrades.

It might have to be done in stages, as few electrical contractors have the manpower to do work at all 19 schools at once, said project manager Roderick Watkins.

More problematic is the installation of air conditioning units. Many of the schools are old and would have to be retrofitted.

"It is going to be an expensive project," Grasso told audience members. "We may have to get grants or go to referendum."

Commissioner Judith Bassford said the district should consider a referendum.

"We ought to do something for this community," she said.

Superintendent of Schools Richard Tardalo, however, said the city doesn't have a good history with referendums. When the district floated the idea of a new middle school at Latteri Park in 2006, voters soundly rejected it.

Moreover, even though the district had a relatively small debt of $6.9 million, the superintendent doesn't see voters supporting spending on air conditioning.

Tardalo may be right. Then again, between 2015 and 2017 when air conditioning came up for a referendum vote in other districts throughout the state, voters approved it three times and rejected the idea twice, according to New Jersey School Boards Association records.

Board members said the district may be able to use the money it sets aside for capital improvements and add air conditioning to the schools over a period of time.

Email: fagan@northjersey.com