Facility Concerns #4

            As a continuation from last week, spaces will continue to trend as the focus.  Our Trades & Industry building is probably the most dire in all the district.  We currently have 62 seats accounted for in our “shop” classes that include engines, metals, woods, and introductory work.  These career classes are driven on two fronts.  The first is the Nebraska Department of Education is developing plans and encouraging schools to offer these classes, as they are typically the first cut when finances become a concern.  Secondly, in our community and county, the careers associated with these classes are needed to serve our patrons and businesses.  This building is currently on Main Street just south of the Tekamah Police office.

            The kindergarten cottage is not a suitable, long-term educational space.  Currently, one section of our kindergarten students utilizes this space for their daily activities.  However, this also requires them to be housed outside the main building (safety concern) and move between buildings as many as four times each day, regardless of weather.  The distance is not much, but there are too many concerns to justify it as a suitable space.

            An adequate commons area, for students to gather, is a need for elementary and high school.  In the high school, our students currently congregate in the hallways near the lockers during the morning and lunch times.  This becomes a supervision problem with limited eyes on multiple hallways and floors.  Additionally, the hallways are not wide enough to support that number of students if teachers are moving through the halls, especially with supplies in tow.  In the elementary, on inclement weather days, the students need to be in the building.  However, supervision is again a concern when they are in multiple hallways and classrooms prior to the day beginning.  Many of these needs and concerns are intertwined and could be solved simultaneously.  For example, there are food services inadequacies that could be solved by also utilizing the space as a commons area.

            There are multiple points of concerns with our roofing systems.  They have been on a better schedule in the past five years for replacement and attention has been given to them, but in some cases, there continues to be leaking concerns.  Some may have to be completely torn off and replaced, though we cannot be certain until we have a plan for addressing these needs.  By roofing, this also includes any facia, drainage, and all other facets that involve sealing the elevated surface of the school building.   

            Some needs are being addressed by the Board in structures they feel will remain, regardless of future decisions.  The gymnasium will be addressed this summer with a reconditioned floor, new bleachers for safety, and potentially new lights being installed.  While further down on the list, other activity needs are also part of consideration by the Board of Education.  Please reach out to them or to me with any questions or concerns you may have.  I hope these articles are helpful in outlining current needs for our students to have an adequate educational environment.

Facility Concerns #3

            In the first two weeks of articles, much of the discussion focused on life safety code issues in our building.  As we continue, safety will be a common theme along with improved education for our students.  Security and safety is a regularly used topic among administrators, teachers, and parents within our buildings.  There are several issues to address, including bus pick-up/drop-off, traffic flow on the elementary side, and street crossings.  However, within our building, secure entries and cameras are a priority.  In current school construction and renovation, secure entries, whether by visual, office-only, or buzzer system are necessary to assist with the safety of our students.  Additionally, an upgraded camera system is a necessity to enhance these safety features.

            With the increased emphasis on technology in teaching, and the potential of improved safety features, technology infrastructure will be challenged.  Upgrades were made for our one-to-one introduction in the high school, but further improvements will be necessary.  This would include the electrical systems, the cabling associated with technology, and the general efficiency of our organization and spaces.  Additionally, with increased technology necessary for preparing our students, extra space to house technology will continue to come at a premium.  Currently, many of our “hubs” are scattered throughout the building in general classrooms.  If any work needs to be done, it would require interruption of the activities within those classrooms.

            The need for additional space is not limited to strictly technology.  We currently use, as best we can, every space in our building for our students and staff.  This includes having some teachers stationed in previous storage locations and moving storage into other areas, which isn’t adequate.  The preschool classes, currently in Herman, would require an addition to our building in Tekamah to be able to serve their needs.  The Board has discussed the inevitability of closing Herman, which would require those students to be in Tekamah.  Our special education rooms and spaces have become insufficient.  As education evolves, special education continues to become a greater emphasis and need.  Currently, nearly 19% of our students qualify for special education services, which is far greater than any time in the past.  With this additional space, room to conduct private meetings with parents (as required) and students or assist students individually would enhance the education.  Finally, flexible classroom space becomes necessary as practices change in education.  This could be tied in with special education, but spaces to work collaboratively in groups, to listen to speakers, or to work as a whole grade level also is a priority for the Board.

            This week’s submission includes needs for the safety of our students and additional spaces necessary to educate our students adequately.  While these are not absolute requirements, the Board has established these as needed to adequately educate our students.  I encourage you to come into the building to view the needs firsthand.  I am always willing to walk through the building and to this point, have given less than a half-dozen tours to patrons. 

Facility Concerns #2

            As the second installment of the series of articles, this will also focus on facilities needs within our district.  Last week, heating and cooling was addressed as a primary priority, but fresh air must be included within that topic.  In our current building, we have many vents that attempt to move air out of the building without much fresh intake.  This creates a “negative” air system in the building and is not allowed in any type of construction today.  This also leads to an unhealthy environment for our students to learn and work.

            Electrical systems are lacking in our current facilities.  With the increase in use of technology, which must be encouraged and provided to prepare our students, there comes a greater demand on our electrical system.  Those in place currently cannot handle the “load” we are trying to run across them.  In addition to the electrical wiring, there may have to be additional infrastructure put in place for current technology.  It seems expensive and all-consuming, but technology is how our students learn, how they will work, and how we must prepare them for graduation from Tekamah-Herman.  While there is a greater draw with technology use in the classroom, those expenses could be negated with updated electrical and lighting to more efficient, current practices utilized by districts around us.

            The next issue to address is plumbing/fire sprinkling of the building.  Our current building does not have any type of fire protection other than alarms.  With current building codes, if we are to make any upgrades to any of our systems, we have been advised that ALL “life safety codes” must be met, which include fire sprinkling.  In order to plumb the building for this, the rest of the plumbing must be investigated, at a minimum, to determine if other upgrades or changes are necessary. 

            Finally, a suitable storm shelter should be constructed/reinforced for the safety of our students.  Currently, our elementary moves from the west end of the building to the basement portion under the high school library (east end of the building) to be in the study hall and weight room for weather emergencies.  Our junior high and high school students traverse the tunnels of the storeroom and old boiler room below and behind the current auditorium stage.  Neither location is good for students in weather situations, but they are the best we have right now.  A properly suited storm shelter has increased construction cost, but is predicted to be required by new building codes coming out this year.

            In each of these first two weeks, the needs of the school are strictly “life safety code” requirements.  That is, if we begin renovating any part of the building, the changes must be carried throughout the entire building and brought up to current building code satisfaction.  With heating and cooling being the initial goal, everything listed in this week’s article would need to be done and satisfactory without much room to negotiate.  The Board continues to investigate potential solutions, costs associated, and recommendations to make the best decision possible for the education of our students.  As always, if there are questions or comments, please seek out a Board member or contact me at the school.

Facility Concerns #1

The Burt County Plaindealer has been kind enough to offer space for a weekly column from Tekamah-Herman Schools.  The purpose of this column is to inform, update, and educate patrons of needs and happenings within our buildings.  With the recent bond election fresh in the communities’ collective mind, it makes sense to begin with the needs we have in our buildings.

While there is little evidence of a consensus as to what the community feels should be done for our district, there is an overwhelming feeling of agreement that “something” must be done for our students.  The Board of Education has been doing much work since the failure of the November bond to determine and prioritize the needs of the district, and develop a plan to meet those needs.  Currently, the Board has a rough draft list of priorities within our buildings, some of which I will share in this column.  To address those needs, the Board has been reviewing the facilities audit conducted by DLR, asking for independent professional opinions from various contractors, architects, and other professionals in the business, and touring several facilities in the area.  In addition to the Board, there is a group of citizens that is fact-finding from many school districts that have renovated, consolidated, and/or built new within their respective districts.  That information is then passed on to the Board for additional consideration.

There are many deficiencies in our district facilities that need to be addressed in the very near future.  Those needs will be focused on the Tekamah building(s) as, stated on several occasions previously by the Board, the Herman facility will eventually have to close as a part of the school district.  The top priority for the Board currently is climate control within our main building.  We currently have boilers operating steam heat in the winters, which are running at less than 70% efficiency (DLR report).  With this system, we have rooms that are outrageously warm in the winter months, but two doors away there are teachers and students that must wear additional clothing to be comfortable.  The lack of building-wide climate control creates a difficult learning environment for the students to focus on education.  In addition to heat, there is not a cooling system for all rooms in the building.  There are a few window units in offices and technology spaces, but with school calendars built across the state as they are now, there is a need for air conditioning.  We have canceled/dismissed school early more times than we have had snow days in the last four years.  On those days of “heat” dismissal, the temperatures in our classrooms were generally 90 degrees or greater.  Again, for the sake of student learning, climate control is necessary.  Additionally, to preserve the equipment, furniture, coverings, and facilities that we have, climate control also assists in that plan.

This being the first of several columns, I felt background information was needed.  There will be many others addressing the myriad of needs within the district.  If you have questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to contact a Board member or myself at your convenience.