By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Dec. 24, 2020) Stephen Decatur Middle School’s roof has been leaking since Tropical Storm Isaias passed by on Aug. 4 and damaged enough shingles that it’s going to cost $240,987 to fix it.

ALLY LANASA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
The Worcester County Board of Education agreed to recommend a proposal to the county commissioners to repair Stephen Decatur Middle School’s roof after it was damaged on Aug. 4 by Tropical Storm Isaias.

That was the low bid the Worcester County Board of Education agreed to recommend to the county commissioners on Dec. 15 after listening to an assessment of the situation from the school system’s roofing consultant Garland Industries.

Even though Garland Industries asserted that the roof needs to be replaced, the school system’s insurer will cover just a portion of that, and installing a standing metal roof would be prohibitively expensive at $1.5 million.

Faced with an unbudgeted project, the board picked low bidder Raintree Services, one of five companies to bid, to take on the project.

Sam Slacum, the maintenance and operations manager for Worcester County Public Schools recommended that the board approve Raintree Services’ proposal, which will now be sent to the county commissioners for funding consideration.

According to the board agenda packet, the project will entail removing all the shingles, tar paper and ice and water shield from one section of the roof at a time and replace it with new material.

Then, synthetic underlayment will be installed over the roof, ice and water shield will be installed at all eaves, rakes and valleys, starter shingles will be installed on the perimeter edge and HD architectural shingles will be installed over the entire proposed area to resolve the issues.

Raintree Services’ proposal includes a workmanship warranty of two years. A lifetime warranty on the shingles will be provided as well.

The project is expected to take two to three weeks, weather permitting, with minimal disruption to those in the building.