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Trial By Fire

Trial By Fire. Boonton HS Fire, March 2018. Steven Gardberg, Business Administrator, Boonton Public Schools Lee Nestel, President, CBIZ Insurance Services. March 7 / Nor’easter #2 of the winter 17-18.

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Trial By Fire

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  1. Trial By Fire Boonton HS Fire, March 2018 Steven Gardberg, Business Administrator, Boonton Public Schools Lee Nestel, President, CBIZ Insurance Services

  2. March 7 / Nor’easter #2 of the winter 17-18 • At approximately 5:20 pm on Wed 3/7 the fire alarm went off in a boiler/electrical room at Boonton HS • BFD noticed smoke coming from top of the gymnasium windows (opposite side of the building) • Fire was found in a storage room / electrical contactor panel inside the boy’s locker room • The fire required ~300 gallons of water to extinguish

  3. Physical Damage to the Building • Physical damage was minimal and localized to one small area • Water damage to gymnasium floor in one section • Smoke traveled throughout the building, resulting in particulate damage • Our tenant (Craig HS) in our main wing, lower level, was also affected • Unrelated to the fire, our HS, JHS school (grades 1-8) and Admin building were w/o power until Saturday afternoon, March 10

  4. NO TIME TO LOSE!! • ASAP: Called insurance broker, remediation companies & County BA • Broker initiated a claim with insurance carrier … “extra expense” • Carrer assigned adjuster w/in 25 min • Subrogation w/in 24 hr because total would exceed $1 million • Emergency purchasing regulations • Adjuster, broker & remediation company on site w/in 24 hr • Remediation began w/in 72 hr of event -- guided by industrial hygienist

  5. Duties in the event of a Property Claim • Make (temporary) repairs to prevent further damage • Segregate damaged items • Do not discard damaged goods unless health and safety concerns; insurer has right to inspect; take pictues to document damage • Prepare inventory of damaged items • Categorize and document expenditures, including overtime. • “Extra Expense” - track expenditures separatly for costs above and beyond normal operating (parent communications, costs to relocate …) • Seek approval from adjuster for final repairs after emergency measures • Note: Advisable to have vendors agree to abide by adjuster’s approval process after emergency repairs return site to stable condition.

  6. In the wise words of Herbert Hoover . . . Wisdom consists not so much of knowing what to do in the ultimate as knowing what to do next.

  7. Crisis Mode • Blessing in disguise: Almost all schools in Morris county were closed 2-3 days due to the storm (snow, trees, power, etc.). • First 48 hours: Administration discussed options to either find another location for 620 HS students or a “work around” • Contacted County Superintendent to discuss a split day having Grades 9-12 and 1-8 run two separate 4-hour ½ days • Nearby district did something similar for 2 days due to a power outage • Article shared by County Office about Pineland Regional which ran a split schedule for months due to a roofing issue.

  8. Decision Made • Vacant schools to accommodate 620 students = 0 • Surrounding schools with adequate space, without substantial disruption to their programs = 0 • Split schedule at our Grade 1-8 building = 1 • Notified BOE & County DOE and never looked back • Administration met Friday, Saturday and Sunday (w/no power and thus, no lights) in JHS school to implement plan

  9. Communication & Feedback • Notified community of the plan by social media and SIS notifications • Feedback was instantaneous, overwhelmingly critical (predominantly on social media) • Best adjective to describe it - excoriated • Each building and the district have Facebook pages that allow comments (and boy did they comment) • Read through the vitriol to look for the patterns and legitimate concerns • Compiled a list with administrative team and prioritized needs

  10. Teamwork • Communicated non-stop for 2 days with district administrative team: Supervisor of C&I, Business Administrator, HS Principal, VP’s, Curriculum Supervisors, AD, Grade 1-5 and 6-8 Principals of JHS, B&G Supervisor and Special Ed Director • Conferred with Mayor, Police Chief, DPW and related municipal offices as we needed all hands on deck and full cooperation • Daily use of social media and SIS notification to communicate to the school community

  11. Split Schedule and Resulting Issues • Grade 9-12 attended classes, 7:15 - 11:15 am, using a modified 4 one-hour block rotating schedule. • Breakfast served before school. • Lunch available upon dismissal across the street. POS terminal set up. • Grade 1-8 attended classes 11:45 am - 4:20 pm, with lunch served • Before-Care implemented for grades Pk-5 (School Street) and grades 6-8 (Boonton Rec building) • Buses obtained to transport children to 1-8 school

  12. Before Care for Working Parents • In response to parents’ concerns, developed a 4 hour “before care” for Grade 1-8 students starting school at 11:30 am • SIS notification to sign up: XYZ students, or XY%, participated • PK-2 school’s multipurpose room and Town Recreation Building • Paid staff contractual hourly rate • Provided busing to John Hill School for start of school day • Purchased games and refreshments for students • All “extra expenses” were covered by insurance

  13. Length of School Day and Contract • Split schedule started & ended outside of negotiated working day • Mon 3/12: Closed schools. held “voluntary” staff meeting at JHS • Asked the staff for help, and acknowledged it was outside their contract • Answered every staff concern funneled through the BEA President • Was emailed over the preceding weekend at “voluntary” meeting • No grievances filed

  14. The first week’s timeline • Wednesday 3/7 - fire • Thursday 3/8 - unable to drive to district; phone calls and emails to BOE and administrators • Friday 3/9 - first arrived to district to see damage and meet with insurance personnel • Saturday/Sunday - administrative team onsite to develop schedule, inventory needed supplies, assign rooms and ascertain seating needs for HS student in 1-8 school • Monday 3/12 - CLosed schools. Had regularly scheduled BOE meeting attended by ~200 community members. ~2 hour presentation using no Powerpoint, written notes or script • Tuesday 3/13 - first day of school using split-schedule. Almost 100% attendance of both staff and students.

  15. Down to Business • $2.3 million • Cash flow & Insurance • Board resolutions for emergency contracts • Accounting: Auditor, County BA • Time sheets

  16. Back to School • Expedite to get education back to normal • Objective, third parties set the bar for health & safety • Subrogation, re-insurance – allow subrogation engineers access as soon as possible while minimizing disruption to remediation • Extra expenses for goods & services otherwise not needed • Building re-occupied on Tue 3/27, just 2 weeks after the fire -- easily could have been 3-4 weeks • Gym Restoration complete on 9/1

  17. Lesson Learned / Paying it Forward • Use social media to “push” your messages out - avoid getting hung up reading the responses and other “expert” opinions • Use your existing notification system for official district communications • People are more likely to read text messages than answer their phones • Send out daily updates and don’t let ‘fiction fester into fact’ • Cellular hot spots are critical to have on hand • Document EVERYTHING!! (spreadsheet on Team Drive); facilitates insurance settlement • Cohesiveness of your administrative team is critical as well as relationship with district staff

  18. Thank You! Steven GardbergBusiness Administrator, Boonton973.335.9700 x8008steven.gardberg@boontonschools.org Lee NestelPresident, CBIZ Insurance Services908.738.2010lnestel@cbizcentric.com

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