Official: Ottawa school roofs need repairs

Greg Leslie wants the Ottawa School Board to do its homework before hiring someone to repair the district’s roofs.

That’s what Leslie, a technical consultant with Garland Co. — a Kansas City-based roofing company — told board members Monday night.

“You really have to do your homework when you’re putting that much money into letting someone do a project like that,” Leslie told board members. “You’ve got to ask the hard questions.”

Leslie’s company has worked with numerous schools in the area, including the Eudora, Tonganoxie and Spring Hill school districts, he said.

Leslie provided board members with photographs of roofs on several of the district’s buildings — including Eisenhower Elementary, 1404 S. Ash St., which had its roof replaced less than five years ago.

In addition, Leslie proposed a budget summary that would extend over three years and cost the district more than $1 million.            

Board members plan to address the topic at a later meeting, after having further discussion.

Leslie said many of the buildings’ roofs were done with very poor detailing and thought, while others were repaired quickly and without planning.

“We thought that was going fine,” board member Susan Ward said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t walk the roofs.”

Ward asked Leslie — who is hoping to head up a district-wide roof management effort — how board members could trust him, when other roofing companies have done such poor work.

“A lot of it boils down to communication and using people you know and you know you can trust,” Leslie said.

Leslie said all of the district’s buildings need some type of maintenance, but some — like Eugene Field Elementary, 720 Tremont St., — need more than others.

Leslie said the gutters on Eugene Field have been abused in recent years and were cluttered with debris from trees.

Not only that, but he said the poorly designed roof has caused problems with the building’s bricking — leaving moisture in the open cracks that should have been filled properly with mortar.

“I would encourage before you make any decision, to investigate thoroughly,” Leslie said.