Lingering Snow Still Posing Problems For Tolland Schools

Over the weekend the National Guard, town crews and resident volunteers worked to remove excess snow from roofs of schools in towns. By Sunday night, however, there were still areas of snow that needed to be cleared, necessitating another closure for the school district today.

“A few more days off at this time will prevent significant days off should there be a roof collapse,” said Town Manager Steven R. Werbner.

to do the bulk of snow removal on the high school and middle school roofs. “Without the assistance of the Guard on Friday there would have been no school for at least all of [this] week,” said Werbner.

The remainder of snow removal was left to town crews and volunteers over the weekend. “There were 85 to 90 volunteers working on snow removal,” said Superintendent William D. Guzman. “Residents of town were helping to finish wings at the high school, as well as the middle school. There were some volunteers working on Birch Grove roofs as well.”

At 4 p.m. on Sunday, the structural engineer said the roof snow levels were below acceptable loads, said Guzman. However, much of the snow cleared from rooftops wound up on the grounds of schools.

“The problem now is that the snow removed from the roofs is blocking entrance ways and HVAC vents,” said Werbner.

The town crews have been working since early morning to clear doorways, pathways and windows, Guzman said.

“They are working as we speak, clearing those areas with dump trucks and payloaders,” he said. “I think we’ll be good to go for Tuesday.”

According to Werbner, it will take crews most of the day and perhaps the night to fully do the job. “Hopefully the snow event scheduled for [this] evening does not keep them out all night,” he said.

The town manager said that it was an amazing feat to clean off 550,000 square feet of snow, six to seven feet deep in places, in three or four days from four buildings. “Residents should appreciate all the work that went into this effort from a lot of people,” he said.

Public Works Operations Manager Clem Langlois Jr., Emergency Management Director/Public Safety Supervisor/Fire Chief John Littell, Town Engineer Jennifer Usher, and Building Official John LeConche were out most of the weekend helping out. “While Clem was working, his deck at home collapsed, ripping shingles off and impacting his sunroom, yet he continued his town functions,” Werbner said.

The structural engineer said the town is in a position where “we should be good for the rest of the winter, whereas some towns haven't even begun to address the issue,” said Werbner. “There is much to learn from this event.”

With today’s closure for snow removal, this makes “snow day” number 11 for the school district. Guzman said that after the three days were removed from February Break, Tolland schools are left with eight days to make up. “We’re looking at April vacation or reducing the school year from 183 days to 180,” he said.

At the held last week, several parents said that they favored shortening the school year in order to lengthen then summer. “We’re trying to be sensitive to scout camp and vacations,” said Guzman. No decisions have been made yet about exactly how these eight days will be made up.