School Committee Inspects “Deplorable” Balch School, Demanding Immediate Repairs-October 27, 1966

School Board Conducts 90-Minute Inspection and Accepts Partial Blame for Balch Conditions

Following a 90-minute inspection of the 50-year-old Balch Elementary School, the Norwood School Committee acknowledged partial responsibility for the building’s “deplorable” condition, while also assigning blame to the finance commission, selectmen, the school building committee, and Town Meeting. Committee Chairman William F. Egan successfully moved that repairs at the Balch School be given immediate priority over non-urgent maintenance work elsewhere in the district.

Among the severe eyesores documented by the committee during their tour were cracked and falling ceilings, rotting window casings, pockmarked blackboards, loose stair bannisters, peeling paint, and a decaying staircase siding that custodian supervisor John P. Maleiko noted would be inspected for termites. Committee members expressed particular shock over loose window sashes that rattled in the drafts. Dr. Thomas Couch remarked that he feared a window frame might collapse if someone leaned against it, noting the building had not been painted in 15 years.

Budget Cuts and Finger-Pointing Over Maintenance Deficits

To address crumbling plaster, committee members manually nailed fir strips across the ceilings of four classrooms to stabilize them, though no funds remain to attach finishing tiles. School Superintendent Dr. Philip Coakley explained that maintenance allocations for the Balch School had been severely curtailed during the previous year due to ongoing building renovations.

The school board had originally requested $150,000 as part of a five-year, $500,000 capital upgrade plan. While selectmen recommended $125,000, the Finance Commission and Town Meeting ultimately slashed the figure to $100,000. Committee member Francis X. Sheehan asked for a complete accounting of maintenance expenditures at the next meeting, while committeeman Charles Saraca urged that custodian Arthur Henry be shielded from any repercussions for exposing the school’s true condition.

Tensions also flared when Sheehan criticized the school department’s public relations policy after a Boston newspaper reporter was denied entry to the school by the principal acting under Dr. Coakley’s orders. “The paper wants to know what we are trying to hide down there,” Sheehan protested.

Light Department Seeks DPU Rate Cut for Proposed Electric Elderly Housing

In municipal utility business, Town Light Department Superintendent William Kates announced plans to petition the state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for a lowered electricity rate to power the 72 proposed units of the town’s upcoming elderly housing complex.

Because the Housing Authority prefers electric heating, Kates noted that current residential rates would average about $17 per unit monthly, whereas bids for alternative heating sources stood at $13.70 for gas and $16.01 for oil. Kates believes the town-run light department can reduce its 1.9-cent-per-kilowatt-hour rate (set in 1963) by two dollars to remain competitive, following two rate reductions enacted by primary supplier Boston Edison. A formal DPU hearing is scheduled for December 13.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger