Briggs is moving to head of class.

Byline: Paula J. Owen

ASHBURNHAM - One school building is left in the district that needs upgrading and the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee is looking into options.

Mention Briggs Elementary School, opened in 1968, to some parents and you may get a response of eyes rolling and off remarks about the condition of the building. The district's needs have outgrown the available space in the school; it has an antiquated heating system and has experienced ventilation and mold issues, according to state reports.

Taxpayers have approved $33 million for renovations to Oakmont Regional High School and money to build a new middle school; both schools support student populations from both towns. Westminster also built a new elementary school that opened in 2003.

But work at Briggs Elementary, which rated poorly in a 2006 state survey of more than 1,000 schools in the state, has been debated and pushed to the back burner for years.

With the state lifting its moratorium last July on applications for new school building projects, many school districts are waiting in line for a piece of the reimbursement pie, which could range from 40 percent to 80 percent of project costs, with up to $500 million distributed each year and the reimbursement rate declining yearly.

The Ashburnham-Westminster district was ready and waiting with its letter of intent sent to the state school building authority that oversees projects, one of the first steps in the process.

Another step is a $400,000 feasibility study, with the town being reimbursed half of that money if voters approve it.

Because of poor conditions at Briggs, the project was chosen with 49 others statewide to move forward with seeking voter approval for the study, out of more than 400 schools found to be in poor conditions competing for money in the state.

One reason for Briggs' rating is poor air quality in the building.

"There were high levels of carbon dioxide found in some rooms," School Superintendent Michael Zapantis explained. "A concerned citizen raised the issue when her daughter attended school there."

High levels of carbon dioxide can lead to headaches and respiratory issues.

Mr. Zapantis said the mother complained her child was sleepy and had other health problems she felt were caused from the school's air quality.

According to the state Department of Public Health that conducted tests and inspections of the school in 1999, 2003 and 2005, high levels of carbon dioxide were found and blamed on poor air exchange in the building. The DPH recommended opening windows and improving the ventilating system in the building.

One mother, Terri L. Adams, had already made the decision to take her daughter, who was in the second grade, out of Briggs after the child developed respiratory problems, and send her to the Westminster Elementary School.

"I know for a fact that these were 100 percent contributing issues to my daughter's conditions," she said. "I'm concerned because there is still 500 other kids there."

Mrs. Adams said she was also concerned about asbestos in the building. Many older schools contain the flame-retardant material that is a known carcinogen.

Mr. Zapantis said asbestos is only contained in floor tiles in the school that are in good condition.

Also in the DPH report were findings on parents' concerns about potential contamination of groundwater from a capped, closed, unlined landfill a half mile up the road from the school and power lines owned by the National Grid running several hundred feet in front of the school.

The report states that leachate from the landfill was not an issue at Briggs because the flow of runoff was not in the direction of the school, nor was any moisture or odors found in the lowest part of the building. Regarding the power lines, the report stated that the lines are 330 feet away from the exterior walls of the school.

"Parents also expressed concern about electrical power transmission lines that were located in a right-of-way north of the BES (Briggs)," the report stated. "Electrical power transmission lines are a source of electrical and magnetic fields (EMFs); however, the fields tend to drop off after 200 feet. MDPH staff estimate that the electric power transmission lines are located over 330 feet from the closest point of the exterior wall of the BES. Therefore, EMFs from the electrical power lines on the indoor environment are unlikely to impact the health of building occupants."

With the School Committee voting to upgrade the half-day kindergarten to a full-day kindergarten in the next school year, the case for a new elementary school in Ashburnham is again at the forefront.

Mr. Zapantis said a new elementary school could be constructed and ready for students in the 2011-2012 school year, if voters approve the measure.

But Mrs. Adams is not satisfied.

"They should research extremely carefully the physical locality of what is in the area," she said. "You don't want to put a brand new school up on top of toxic property. It doesn't make sense if it is a really bad area that will permeate the school again."