The contract was awarded by a unanimous vote of the School Committee.
LUDLOW - The School Committee Tuesday night voted 5 to 0 to award a contract to repair the ceilings in the school business office at School Department headquarters at 63 Chestnut Street to Central Ceilings Inc. for $59,800.
Central Ceilings Inc. of South Easton was the low bidder, Darlene Cincone, assistant school business manager, said.
Cincone said the work will begin Feb. 24 and will be completed by April 16.
The second floor drop ceiling collapsed in March of last year. In May there was a second ceiling collapse and the second floor was declared unsafe, School Committee Chairman Michael J. Kelliher said.
The drop ceiling was removed and it was discovered that the original plaster ceiling needs to be replaced. Lighting also had to be removed to make the repairs.
Voters at a special Town Meeting in October approved the appropriation of up to $75,000 from the town’s stabilization fund to make the ceiling repairs.
After the repairs are complete, “the School Committee can stop wandering around town to hold its meetings,” Kelliher said. The School Committee has been meeting at the Baird Middle School auditorium and Tuesday met in the selectmen’s meeting room in the Town Hall.
“We want this work done,” Cincone said.
The work can be done within the $75,000 appropriation, Kelliher said.
“It’s possible we will have some money to give back to the town,” he added.
The Board of Selectmen recently met with town department heads and the Finance Committee and said the town needs to come up with at least $800,000 in savings in next year’s budget so taxpayers are not hit with a big tax increase.
The average taxpayer received a $250 property tax increase last year and has received property tax increases in prior years as well, Selectman William Rooney said.
Rooney said he received many calls of complaint about the tax increase.