It's going to cost more than $300,000, but school officials say something has to be done to fix a potholed parking lot, leaky roofs, a crumbling but cherished wall, the high school's distinctive entrance columns and other problems that are eating away at the edges of the city's schools.

In a tough economy, carving large sums out of municipal budgets for capital projects and building repairs can equate to a loss of vital city services. Perhaps for this reason, a capital project wish list put forth by the school department has remained unfunded since 2007. But that didn't deter Newburyport School facilities manager Steve Bergholm from coming forward to the school committee this week to request a number of important fixes be funded in the 2011 school budget.

http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x756275359/Schools-in-need-of-fixes