Middletown Building Boss -- Maintenance Critical With New School
MIDDLETOWN BUILDING BOSS — MAINTENANCE CRITICAL WITH NEW SCHOOL
MIDDLETOWN, RI (OCTOBER 14, 2026) – Ed Collins has seen it before.
A new building is approved and constructed in other communities, but there’s no plan to maintain it once it’s completed. Problems arise, money hemorrhages and frustration mounts, taking valuable resources away from students and the classroom.
Middletown’s Shared Facilities Director was adamant at a recent meeting that’s not what’s going to happen here with the new middle high school at 1225 Aquidneck Ave.
During a recent briefing with the Town Council, Collins said Middletown Middle High School and the district’s other schools will be subject to the most rigorous public maintenance program in the community’s history.
“I attend a lot of council meetings and I not only listen to you, but I hear you and I hear you when you say you’re concerned about the maintenance of the building,” Collins said. “I can tell you this — we’re not going to build a car we don’t know how to drive. Everything that’s selected in that building is what we need and we’re also thinking about how are we going to maintain it.”
Even before a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the official start of construction of the 211,000-square-foot middle high school, the project has been “on time and on budget.”
Collins and other officials provide regular updates to the Town Council at meetings so everyone was aware and informed about every aspect of the project. The volunteer School Building Committee also meets monthly to discuss the effort. For regular updates, visit https://mdl.town/SBC online.
In his latest briefing, Collins said window installation was happening along with interior drywalling, ceiling work and more.
He also noted those who would be using the school most — students and teachers — were actively helping transform the new building into an educational home and hub.
“Over the past year plus, we’ve been building a building,” Collins said. “Now, we’re building a school.
“We’re selecting furniture, systems, colors and what happens inside the school. That’s what makes a school. Right now, the School Department is fully engaged being part of that process to make sure what’s going in there is what we need and what we want, all the way to making sure the changing table in the special ed room is exactly what we want.”
As part of that process, Collins was clear he and his team were analyzing every aspect of the building, what’s being installed and implemented and why.
If a system or piece of equipment was too much or wasn’t something that could be maintained, Collins said another option was selected. The same was true with proprietary software, something he said the community was staying away from to improve service and hold down costs.
For example, Collins noted the schools and town were standardizing their security and phone systems across all buildings to reduce potential problems and friction areas.
“We’re not only building a very special school, we’re building a very special school we’ll be more than capable of maintaining,” Collins said. “That’s a main thought and part of every decision we make.”
Council President Paul M. Rodrigues said it was difficult not to be impressed with Collins and his group and the amount of thought and effort they’re putting into every aspect of the project.
“This is awesome,” Rodrigues said. “We have a lot of new facilities in town and reconditioning (buildings) we have and it’s important we have plans in place. If we don’t have plans in place, then we fail.”
“Every building I’ve ever been part of, I’ve learned from,” Collins responded. “I’ve taken those lessons and taken those into other buildings. I can tell you I’ve seen it so many times where communities build schools and the design team walks away and they have no ability to maintain (the school). We’re making sure we’re doing what’s right for Middletown and our buildings.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Maintenance
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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