jgiordano@rsmercury.comBetter views, better insulated classrooms and offices and safer technology is expected at RSCS this coming school year with the August delivery of 220 windows. The windows mark the beginning of the replacement project approved last year by voters and funded largely by EXCEL grant money from the state. The cost of the project, approximately $900,000 according to RSCS Superintendent Robert Barraco, was funded completely by the $3.1 million state aid package and approximately $200,000 from the district’s reserve money. “There was no tax impact, it did not come out of anyone’s pocket, it was completely funded by the state,” Barraco said. “Then we had the $200,000 we applied to that state money. This was reserve monies we applied to the total project so there would be no tax impact. We had saved this money over the last few years for any project of this nature,” Barraco added. The windows, which he described as “super duper windows,” were scheduled for delivery with installation to begin by the second week of August, but Barraco said on Monday that there were delays. “We should be receiving the windows by the end of August and will begin putting them in then,” he added. “The anticipated delivery was earlier than August which would have gotten them done by the start of the school year,” he explained, “but due to the delay they will be completed some time in September, probably the end of September as opposed to the beginning of September.” Due to the historical nature of the building and surrounding community, the style will closely match the current windows in place that were installed when the building was constructed in the 1930s, Barraco said. “They are the latest thing out there to provide insulation and safety,” he said. “The current windows are deteriorating badly and are not doing their job as far as insulation goes. They are difficult to operate since they are so old and,” he added,” if anything gets to be that old it is time to redo them.” Only windows in the original portion of the building will be replaced, on all floors, he noted. “The new addition has fairly new windows, so only windows in the original building, in both the classrooms and offices on the first and second floors will be replaced,” he said. As a result of the new windows, Barraco expects that the district will “certainly recoup huge energy savings in a short amount of time. Also, (there will be) better safety in the operation of the windows. We will be able to lock and secure the windows without worrying about faulty mechanisms. The biggest thing is the energy savings and operation.”
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