Students at Melissa Jones Elementary School will have a safer, sturdier, and more efficient roof going into the new school year, according to Director of Operations and Facilities for Guilford Public Schools Cliff Gurnham.

Partial roof replacement will be done to the section of the roof that is 16 years old and has had some damage due to moisture. Replacement will be completed on about 9,000 square feet of the current roof.

"There are some layers that have moisture in it. It's not necessarily penetrating all the way through, but it's still been a concern," Gurnham said. "The roof needs some maintenance done just to prolong its life cycle, but whenever water got in there and the moisture got in underneath, I felt it was best to replace that portion of the roof."

Dean Petrucelli, project architect and project manager for Petrucelli and Associates who is working on the project for the school, addressed the Board of Selectmen (BOS) earlier this month about the upcoming construction. He noted 11 bidders had participated in a walk-through outlining what the project entails and then six bidders submitted bids ranging from $164,000 to $257,000.

It was then recommended to hire the lowest bidder, Quality Roofing of West Haven, which has worked with Petrucelli in the past through several roofing projects. All BOS members unanimously voted and awarded the bid to the West Haven company in the amount of $164,232.

The estimated time frame for the project is about five to seven days, with the goal to have the work done before students go back to Melissa Jones Elementary School on Thursday, Aug. 30. If for some reason the work is not complete by that time, the remainder of the project will be finished on the weekends.

"The contract is to get it done before the beginning of the new school year," Gurnham said. "The work will be done on about 9,000 square feet of the roof, so it's a lot less than half the roof. The work being done will be on the two flat roof sections of the building."

Both Petrucelli and Gurnham looked into whether or not the old roof had a warranty; they found nothing in the records. Gurnham said the new roof will have a 20-year warranty.

Gurnham is pleased that the anticipated time frame is about a week and that the work is most likely to be completed before the school year.

"It's always good getting things done before school starts," he said.