[T]he results of a noise study could lead to funding for sound mitigation improvements at South Burlington’s Chamberlin Elementary School.
The school sits less than half a mile from Burlington International Airport, and experiences interruptions daily from the sound of planes.
School Board Chair Elizabeth Fitzgerald said the current noise from commercial aircraft and F-16 fighter jets used by the Vermont National Air Guard has created what is known at the school as the “Chamberlin pause.” Noise levels are expected to increase when the F-16 fighter jets are replaced by the F-35 jets in 2020.
“Over the years when there’s classroom instruction that goes on, a teacher will have to stop for several seconds,” she said. “It’s very brief, something the educational community has kind of become accustomed to.”
The school district hired ATC Associates, an environmental consulting firm to conduct noise testing in and out of the school. The analysis measured actual noise, including flights at the airport and neighborhood noise, such as traffic.
The results indicate that the school is in compliance with federal workplace guidelines, and prompted no significant concerns for Fitzgerald and district officials. But the school exceeded the standards for the Federal Interagency Committee on Noise, or FICON.
The indoor FICON threshold is 45 decibels, and 55 decibels for outdoors. In perspective, the sound of an air conditioning unit at 100 feet is 60 decibels. Noise levels recorded at Chamberlin were about 7 decibels higher than the guideline.
“There was no level that created unsafe conditions for employees or for students,” Fitzgerald said.
Additionally testing for Chamberlin School is scheduled for mid-August. Depending on the results, the district could receive grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for soundproofing and other noise mitigation.
The upcoming testing will use a different methodology, including placing speakers outside the school to measure variance from inside to outside, including the roof, according to Fitzgerald. The goal is to help determine what sound mitigation efforts could reduce the noise, which might include a different type of air conditioning or window.
School board meeting minutes from June 20 indicate that if the grant is approved, a federal request for proposals, or RFP, would have to be used to hire a company.
Fitzgerald said that if the grant is received, construction could start this summer. It is unclear if the grant would cover the entire cost, but she said the changes could be funded in part as capital improvements, if necessary.
The testing at Chamberlin Elementary also comes as the district’s superintendent and business manager are working to craft a master planning and re-visioning process for all schools.
The school is considering a move to South Burlington’s new city center, Fitzgerald said.
“There is no crisis looming right now, and that’s why we’re looking towards the superintendent and his staff to create a long term plan,” she said.
