Evaluating Groton's School Facilities: Claude Chester (With Video)

Claude Chester Elementary School was built in 1952. It spans 43,581 square feet and serves 386 students.

Estimated costs for capital improvements, largely related to infrastructure, stand between $9.8 and $11 million.

“Claude Chester is a tough one,” said Wes Greenleaf, director of building and grounds at the Groton Public School District. “We need a neighborhood school [in that location]. We’ll always need a neighborhood school there. [The school] sits on a nice piece of property, strategically located.”

The old masonry construction of Claude Chester has given way to the elements. Expansion cracks are littered throughout the building’s exterior and moisture leaks have chipped away at its paint.

Cracks are particularly harmful on the reinforcing beams located under the school’s gym. Here moisture from the steam-heat boiler return line wears at old concrete. The beams become hazardously spongy.

“There’s other parts of the building that have structural cracks,” said Greenleaf. “It’s not as bad, but getting there.”

“The right thing would be to put new pillars halfway through to other beams,” said Greenleaf. “The cost would be staggering. If we’re going to keep this building we’ve got to do something about these beams for everyone’s sake.”

Like the other schools in this series, Claude Chester battles with non-friable asbestos floor tiles and handicap accessibility.

Chester’s multipurpose room also serves as its cafeteria and theater. Large kitchen equipment is kept on the sides of the room to make up for insufficient storage space.

“We have a lot more materials today for education than when these buildings were first designed,” he said. “[Still, it’s] not the safest thing in the world."

Issues with storage extend to Chester’s kitchen.

“The kitchen for Claude Chester was designed for a whole different day, when the lunches were much simpler,” said Greenleaf. “Now the lunches are [healthier] and they include different things and a bigger plate. And you have this tiny little kitchen built in 1955 that doesn’t meet codes.”