Repairs to computers may exceed $100,000

CHELMSFORD -- The damage to the school district's computer network system caused by a leaky roof amounts to more than $100,000, according to school officials.

At the School Committee meeting last night, Bruce Forster, technology director for the district, said the district is still recovering from the system shutdown following a flood inside the network-control room at the high school earlier this month.

The water came through the roof that a contractor left unsealed while trying to install a heating and ventilation system. The rainwater destroyed all the equipment there, and the next day water was pouring out of servers, Forster said.

The district retrieved backup data and has just put the e-mail system back online. But the hardware had specific configurations and it is not easy to replace, Forster said.

The cost is expected to exceed $100,000, and the town's insurance company will be trying to recoup it from the contractor(s) that are responsible for the damage, Forster said.

Pat Maloney, chairman of the School Building Committee, said at the meeting that all school building projects, including the high school's, are moving along on time and under budget. School Committee members praised the building panel's hard work and Maloney's ability to handle the projects.

Superintendent of Schools Richard Moser also talked about a change in busing schedules.

He said families who choose to send their children to a middle school to which they are not assigned will be responsible for transportation starting this fall.

Until last year, the district provided busing to "open-enrollment" students. This is because some students ended up in a middle school different from the one their siblings go to following a redistricting some years ago, and the School Department allowed these families to put their children in the same school. At that time, the district told the families that busing service would be provided only until 2005-2006 school year, Moser said.