If you were to purchase an $80,000 BMW M-series sports car -- or any vehicle, for that matter--you’d most likely change the oil and fluids as recommended, right? Or, at least you wouldn’t be surprised if the engine failed after a few years of neglect?

So it seems like a no-brainer that if a school installs an expensive new heating and cooling system, it should keep up with the routine maintenance, right?

Yet another investigation into the financial nightmare known as the District of Columbia Public Schools has revealed that the district’s facilities department did not perform routine maintenance in the 400 boilers operating in schools, some of which were state-of-the-art systems installed less than 10 years ago at a cost of $80 million. And, not surprisingly, many of those boilers are now broken, some beyond repair.

The routine maintenance, according to a Dec. 31 article in the Washington Post, (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/interactives/dcschools) would have used water treatment chemicals to remove harmful mineral deposits in the boiler systems. Without the treatments, which would have cost about $100,000 a year for the entire district, deposits clog and corrode pipes and the boilers’ inner workings.

But D.C., for all its woes, is hardly the first district to make such a deferral. Far too often, building maintenance is the first cut when a district’s budget tightens, leading to more expensive and severe maintenance problems. Over the years we’ve heard countless stories of collapsed roofs, failed heating and cooling systems, mold, and other disasters that could have easily been avoided (at much lower costs) if districts hadn’t cut the maintenance. Besides, how can you expect kids to learn if their classrooms are too cold/hot/loud/leaky/etc. to be comfortable?

As we head into the coldest winter months, keep in mind that a school building is also the symbol most community members associate with the school district. So if your buildings don’t appear to be well maintained, public confidence in your school system may erode along with those boilers and roofs.

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor