By Jack DeGange

Thetford’s School Board knew it had a serious problem.

The Vermont town’s elementary school, built in 1961 with a series of additions over the next 25 years, was in dire need of major refurbishment.

Most conspicuous among numerous concerns involving this K-6 facility that serves about 270 students was the gymnasium, a multi-purpose resource that was part of the original construction. The concrete floor was covered with cracking asbestos tile. In a nutshell, it was unsafe, so much so that neighboring towns refused to allow their teams to visit a gym that had been outgrown and was generally unsafe.

In 1999, the school board, chaired by Charlie Buttrey, conducted a town-wide “climate survey” that outlined the problems and proposed solutions. The community agreed that change was needed and endorsed the plan that, in order to qualify for funding from the State of Vermont, required that the entire school be reviewed and brought into code compliance.

“The gym was the impetus,” said Karen Buttrey, Charlie’s wife who chaired the building committee (she’s not a school board member). “For years it was also the cafeteria. Kids playing basketball had been known to slip on a piece of food stuck to the tiles.

“The school had grown to the point that we were using a mobile classroom and had no space large enough for an all-school event. And, we were relying on the original boiler that was purchased as used equipment in 1961.

“We selected Trumbull-Nelson as general contractor for what turned into a $3.5 million project that was divided fairly evenly into three segments—a new gym, renovation of existing space, and infrastructure improvements.”

Guiding construction that was completed in time for use during the current school year were T-N project manager Todd Thompson and John McKeon (T-N’s site superintendent). They teamed with Mark Wheeler of St. Johnsbury, Vt., the architect, and William A. Halsey, who moved to Thetford from New York City nearly 20 years ago.

“Bill has been an architect for over 50 years,” said Karen Buttrey. “He came to several meetings during the planning process. When we advertised for a clerk of the works, he applied.”

While the new gym dominates the project profile, a classroom addition was included along with a music room, cafeteria, and kitchen (both located in the footprint of the old gym) that serves school and community events. Through the Upper Valley Community Foundation an anonymous grant provided funds for art room renovation. A mechanical room was added and an improved air handling system benefits from solar panels installed on the exterior wall of the gym to pre-heat air coming into the school.

“Trumbull-Nelson’s team was very open-minded and great to work with,” said Karen Buttrey. “They were especially helpful in providing value engineering solutions that provided creative ways to help us solve problems and stay within our budget.”

“We desperately needed to make these improvements to our school,” said Charlie Buttrey. “What we wanted was a state-of-the-art school but we also had to be mindful of what we could afford. The solar panels are the first installed in a Vermont school and will help us reduce fossil fuel expense. We hope other schools will follow suit.”

For Trumbull-Nelson and many dedicated folks in Thetford, the “new” elementary school is just another measure of a great team effort.