The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996            TAG: 9610170315
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   60 lines

ROOFING REPAIRS BEHIND SCHEDULE AT BEACH SCHOOLS

Replacement work on the roofs of four Beach schools has fallen behind, and some work that should have been finished this summer is still incomplete.

The $1.8 million project to replace 30- to 40-year-old roofs at Thalia and Alanton elementary schools, Great Neck Middle School and Old Donation Center is being done by American Sheet Metal Corporation based in Norfolk.

Anthony Arnold, the district's director of facilities planning and construction, said that the contractor has been put on notice by the district because the work has extended past the scheduled completion date, and the company may have to pay damages. Arnold said school officials would continue to monitor the work's progress and decide after the project is completed ``how we plan to enforce the contract.''

``We've been urging and urging, pushing and prompting,'' to get the project completed, Arnold said. Replacement work above classrooms was to be finished this summer, with work above cafeterias and other noninstructional areas to be done by late September or the first of October.

Arnold estimated that work at Great Neck Middle was about 90 percent complete, at Thalia 65 percent, at Alanton 55 percent and at ODC 35 percent. Roof work on classrooms at ODC continues, although not while students are present.

Work done by three other companies on three other roofing projects this summer was completed on time, according to Arnold.

Kathryn Snell, executive vice president of American Sheet Metal, said that her company has daily contact with the division to notify officials of what work will be done, and she said crews are working on the weekends.

But bad weather and the accommodation of the teaching schedule has slowed things down. The only school where the contractors can work during class hours is Great Neck Middle, and that's because the work is being done in areas where there are no children, Snell said.

``We're doing our best. We had an exceptionally wet summer,'' she said. ``We're doing everything we can to finish. We're trying not to interfere with the schooling of the children.''

Snell said she expected ``a great amount of progress'' on all the projects within the next month.

Caryl Felty, principal at Thalia, said teaching has not been interrupted by the roofing, although there has been some leakage in the cafeteria. Felty said some ceiling tile damage has already been repaired.

``Our parents are upset that our roofing has fallen behind, and I can't blame them for that, but teaching is going on here,'' she said.

Leakage during last week's heavy rain has increased the frustration for some parents who feel that the project has stalled.

Julie Jarrett, a member of the Thalia PTA board, has been particularly upset about damage caused by construction trucks to an outside play area. The damage, she said, cannot be repaired until the roofing is complete. She also said the noise level after school, when the repair work begins, can be overwhelming.

``Now, if you have anything after school going on, you can't stand it,'' she said.

Doug Roberts, another Thalia parent, said work is not moving at the rate it could, with the project going unstaffed or understaffed some days.

``The lowest bidder's not always the guy who's going to get the project finished,'' Roberts said. by CNB