Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Meeting in regular session Monday night, The Brighton Board of Education approved spending up to $250,000 for a change order involving the lintels at the BECC Building at Main and Church streets. The project will replace up to 26 lintels that suffered deterioration when water became trapped between the brick and the block construction over the years.

What is a lintel, you may ask? To put it simply, a lintel is a horizontal beam that spans an opening in a building such as a door or window, and supports the weight of the structure above it. The BECC building, which was built in the 1920s, is nearly a hundred years old and school officials say badly needs the improvements.

The work to replace the windows and lintels is part of a $2 million project to renovate the east wing of the building, which at one time served as Brighton High School, and later as Scranton Middle School. Currently, it is home to the Bridge Alternative High School, special education and community education programs and the Brighton Area Recreation Connection. In addition, the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education conducts its meetings on the second floor, which also houses the district’s administrative offices.

The overall project involves renovations to seven classrooms and replacement of heating and cooling equipment. Funding comes from some unspent COVID relief funds and leftover funds from the 2019 bond issue. Some 65% of the window and lintel replacement cost is coming from the grant and 35% from the district’s general fund. The federally funded part of the project must be completed by Dec. 31st, unless the district seeks, and is granted, an extension. The motion to replace the lintels at the BECC Building passed on a unanimous vote.