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Letter: $19.8M bond mostly fixes small problems
Op-Ed · August 31, 2017
This bond proposal is being billed as an “investment” in education by school officials and supporters.
What we will be investing in however, should this bond pass, is mostly expensive fixes to minor issues and extras.
Currently, middle school students are bused to and from the high school to attend several classes there. They spend up to a third of their day at the high school. This is due to the fact that fifth-grade is currently housed in the west wing of the middle school. They also walk from their building to the elementary to eat lunch and attend P.E. classes.
It has also been reported that middle school students don’t get much time to eat lunch, and that travel to the elementary takes up class time. Keep in mind that the buildings are only 300 feet apart.
There are also traffic and potential safety problems on Oliphant Street — problems that have existed for years.
How will they fix these issues? By tearing down the middle school and building a new parking lot and driveway.
While school leaders call the middle school inadequate, the building is in solid structural condition, and only in need of routine maintenance items. Taxpayers have spent large sums of money on recent upgrades including brand new air conditioning. School officials maintain that this new parking lot is the best solution to the Oliphant Street traffic problems.
Middle school students will then have a new home at the high school. In order to accommodate the new middle school students, extensive renovations and large additions will have to be built at the high school. Renovations that also include such extras as large student lounge areas and a 700-seat performing arts center that will replace the current auditorium. To be fair, the current auditorium is undersized at 300 seats, but do we really need an auditorium that will be built at more than twice the size of the current auditorium?
The new addition will be built over part of the existing parking lot and entrance to the complex. A new, larger parking lot and entrance drive will have to be constructed over the current ball diamond just north of the high school. At this point, we will now be well over $10 million, all of this, instead of simply bringing classes back to the middle school, fixing a traffic issue on Oliphant Street and allowing more time for students to eat lunch.
In order to bring back fifth grade to Hoover Elementary, add larger pre-k, art and music rooms, a new addition will be built. Sounds logical until you look at that part of the plan. The plan calls for demolishing the entire mid-section of the building, at an estimated $7 million dollars, only to rebuild it, instead of simply adding the necessary classroom space.
Part of the high school plan does add some technology and science rooms, but overall, very little classroom space will be gained.
While I fully support education and our teachers, I cannot, however, support this plan. Ask yourself, is this really a sound investment in education?
Earl Eggert
West Branch
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