BOE Seeks Proposals to Remedy Acoustic Issues at Walsh Intermediate School

The Branford Board of Education is seeking outside ideas in its effort to find the most effective way to solve the ongoing sound concerns at Francis Walsh Intermediate School.

The district sent out a request for proposal last week looking for solutions to the acoustic problems in the building, according to a New Haven Register report.

The middle school, which was built in the 1970s, has virtually no walls.

From 'Plan A' to 'Plan B'

Last fall, group of parents petitioned the Board of Education to sound proof as many as 10 classrooms in fifth-grade wing of the school. That plan, however, which eventually grew to a propsal to renovate the entire wing, was put on hold in August by the school board.

Then late last month David Stein, a project manager with Silver/Petrucelli + Associates, recommended the school board consider other options to solving the building's acoustics problem, an approach referred to as "Plan B."

Student, Teacher Survey

In addition to exploring other options for sound attenuation, Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez has said current students and teachers will asked to take part in a survey that will allow them to share their experience at the school.

Graduated middle school students will also be asked to participate in the survey, Hernandez said.