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.
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