Vandalized Control Panel ID'd As Source of Middle School Overheating

The middle school is finally cooling down. After many winters of being with air-conditioning and open windows, the culprit was discovered this morning during an inspection by public officials and a private HVAC firm.

"We did the inspection and found that someone had broken into the control box in the boiler room and put them on override. This caused the boilers to run all the time," said Board of Education Chair Nick Palladino, who went on the tour. "It was obvious it was broken into. I could see the pry marks on the side of the box."

He said the inspection crew immediately spied the broken-open control-panel door when it walked into the Joseph Melillo Middle School boiler room.

"Somebody busted it open with a screwdriver and activated all the override buttons. The boilers would just continue to run," said Palladino. "The controls have been set appropriately now. It was just a matter of pushing the right button."

Another thing found this morning that is also contributing to the wasteful output of heat was the wires that are supposed to run from a computer system to the control panel were never hooked up, said Palladino. That hookup would enable the heating system to be monitored and regulated daily through the Internet.

The inspection crew included The George Ellis Company, a West Haven HVAC outfit, Ralph Mauro, assistant director of administration and management for the town, School Superintendent Anthony Serio, School Buildings and Grounds Director Joe Travaglino, a maintenance plumber, and Sam Giglio from the School Building Committee.

Asked who is responsible for keeping an eye on the boiler room, Palladino said he wasn't sure.

Neither was Mauro.

Though the busted and manipulated control panel was a major cause of the overheating, Mauro said it was unlikely the entire reason. Both he and Palladino strongly suspect there are broken thermostats in the classrooms.

So starting next Monday, they said, The Ellis Company will begin checking the thermostats and valves in the rooms on one of the four wings of the school. (School is on holiday break next week.)

Plan of action

When he stepped into the boiler room Thursday morning, Mauro said, "First I said who would do that. Everyone said 'I didn't do it. I didn't do it.'"

Then his focus turned to trying to remedy the problems. Mauro said a better lock is needed, someone needs to hold the key and be held responsible for the boiler room, and the computer wires need to be hooked up.

Palladino said at the next Board of Education meeting Jan. 11, members will discuss writing a maintenance and inspection policy for heating the schools.

"Our plan is to look forward. Not to look back and [ask] who did it," said the school board chair.

"It's just a matter of working together. We're all here for the betterment of the town, the children. No egos, no personalities. I don't like pointing fingers at people. It doesn't matter."