Absestos discovered at the Upper Perkiomen High School will likely be removed over the summer. A grant from the state Department of Education will help fund the work.

            Last week the Upper Perkiomen School Board voted to approve an award from the Public School Environmental Repairs Program Grant worth $495,979. The district is prepared to spend the remaining portion of the total cost – approximately $1.2 million – to cover the entire abatement project, said Member JP Prego.

            The grant requires a 50/50 match. An annual inspection of each of the school's buildings is required by law, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrea Farina.

            Administrators plan on removing the material – described by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a group of naturally occurring minerals resistant to heat and corrosion that has been used in products, such as insulation for pipes, floor tiles, building materials and in vehicle brakes and clutches – from several areas of the building, located at 2 Walt Road in Red Hill. It is not friable, defined as easily broken into small fragments or reduced to powder.

            "No one is in danger," Farina said after the Sept. 26 workshop meeting.

            The work won't commence until the end of the current school year, noted Prego. He said after the meeting that it could last the entire summer leading up to the start of the 2025-26 school year and prevent anyone from entering the building.

            Project specifications identify more than 3,000 square feet of asbestos to be removed from areas that include the gymnasium, cafeteria, rooms and classrooms in the 100 wing and several rooms in the 200 wing. The document, presented by Prego, identifies the work to be completed in two phases.

            During the first phase, crews will remove between 350 and 400 square feet of materials, used as sprayed-on fireproofing from the gymnasium/natatorium corridor and 15 square feet of troweled-on pipe fittings from a utility corridor under the pool.

            The second phase calls for the removal of between 480 and 500 square feet of sprayed-on fireproofing in the cafeteria area and 350 to 400 square feet of five rooms in the 100 wing, as well as the audion office and near an elevator. It also identifies troweled-on pipe fittings in the southeast corner of the cafeteria.

            Phase No. 2 identifies unquantified amounts under 9x9 inch floor tiles to be removed from 11 classrooms in the 100 wing and five in the 200 wing. It also includes the audion office, the women's faculty restroom, nurse's station, library office, student activities area as well as several music rooms, including the band and choral facilities, along with the offices, storage and proximate stairwells.

            Additionally, removal is required in nine classrooms in the 100 and 200 wings as well as the main office and its vault. In the science area, the material has been discovered in black laboratory table tops in 13 classrooms and associated preparation areas, according to the document.

            In personnel news, the members approved the retirement of Carol Bedford, an administrative assistant for the school counseling department, effective Dec. 3 and Bonnie Smith, a food service employee, effective Nov. 21. They also voted to accept the resignation of Mary Walter, a food service employee.

            The board voted to appoint Emily Hubbs as an administrative assistant in the middle school guidance office, and hired Judith Boyer and Marissa D'Avenia as cafeteria/playground aides.  

            According to solicitor Kyle J. Somers, the board met in executive session immediately prior to the public portion of the meeting to consider an issue of potential litigation involving a tax assessment matter.