Adam Reed
Thu, 3 May 2018 16:19:10 -0500
To: Robertson, Sue
Rosenwald - issues and concerns - HVAC, Flooring, Bus Dropoff
Attachments: 050318Rosenwallschool (1).doc (26.0 KB), Rosenwald Estimate concrete . 5.2.18.1.pdf (98.7 KB)

Sue,
I would like to say thank you for supporting the launch of Rosenwald Collegiate and always lending an ear to hear our
concerns. It’s made a huge difference in preparing our facility for our Westbank students and families. Per our
conversations regarding the current HVAC, flooring, and bus drop off needs of the school, I wanted to follow up with
estimates and descriptions of the concerns for your context.
Please see the attached two estimates for the flooring and bus drop-off area discussed below.
Here are some concerns about the Rosenwald facility's current conditions and the effects it will have on our school
operations this coming school year.
There are three major areas of concern:
HVAC: The system has a single chiller that is 20 years past its lifespan. The vendors that have worked on the system
currently and in the past have stated that the chiller needs to be replaced. The cost of repairs from the past couple of
years and the current repairs are adding up to around $90,000. The cost of a new chiller would be around $120,000.
The facility only runs on one chiller and if part of it is down, the entire school’s air is greatly compromised. We are
currently operating with half the chiller and it is warm in parts of the school. I fear that we could be looking at high
repair/maintenance costs and ultimately having to replace it mid school next year, which would result in having to close
school for a few days.
I found an energy grant that we are using to upgrade the controls to the building to better operate the air temperature
but this will not help keep the chiller from breaking down.
Flooring: The flooring in the school is a combination of many different repairs or replacement jobs performed over the
years. We have a large amount of blue/green flooring that seems to be from a replacement job years ago. The
replacement flooring is popping up due to heat and moisture and the building not having air flow due to the HVAC
system being down or shut off from the past. The floor also is popping up because of improper installation. Several
flooring vendors have stated that the tiles were not installed with the proper glue or the surface of the subfloor was not
prepped correctly resulting in the tiles now popping up. They also stated that as we walk on the tiles, the floor will start
to pop up no matter what we do. I have a great concern we will start our school year with flooring concerns, resulting in
safety concerns for our students and staff. The tiles are easy to pick up off the ground and throw like a frisbee. You can
also trip or slip on them, I have and recent visitors have as well.
Bus Dropoff: The bus drop off area where the students will enter and exit the school is a great concern for safety and
ADA function to the facility. The current concrete slab is subsiding and has lost more than a foot of fill under it in many
locations. There are large cracks in the slab that have created a trip hazard for anyone that walks in this area. I have
had an engineer conduct an assessment of the condition of the concrete slab and he has deemed the area unsafe for
use. He has found there to be no evidence of support in the concrete slab to keep it from collapsing if a group of
students were to stand on it. This area's condition has now created multiple problems with ADA accessibility for the
students or visitors of the school. We have no ADA ramp or lift in any other section around the school that would
accommodate our students, staff, or visitors with ADA needs to enter or exit the school.
Collegiate Academies has committed its limited funds budgeted for the school towards renovating a set of
student/staff restrooms and hardware to accommodate our school population with ADA needs. These aforementioned
inherited repairs come at a great cost to our network and we do not have the funds needed to address these issues
alone.s We are asking for OPSB assistance to help address these before we open our doors to our new Rosenwald
School. We are committed to serving the community of New Orleans and the Rosenwald area with the highest quality high

 school education and environment to ensure we meet our mission to prepare all students for college success and lives of
unlimited opportunity.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss further our findings at Rosenwald.
Sincerely,
-Adam Reed
Director of Facilities
Collegiate Academies
7301 Dwyer Drive
New Orleans, Louisiana 70126
504-439-6779
Areed@collegiateacademies.org
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