I want to extend appreciation from the Board for those
patrons that have reached out with questions or input as a result of the weekly
articles. The communication that results
will be what allows the school district and community to thrive going forward. Without the community participation in the
district or the school participation in the community, the benefit for both
will be far less than that produced by a cooperative effort.
Continuing in our buildings, the locker rooms in our
current gym are less than sufficient.
The use of the space, the condition of lockers and plumbing are
deteriorating, and the electrical must be upgraded to have appropriate lighting
within the space. The plumbing has
continued to be a nuisance over the past school year and while attempts are
being made to make it functional, it is a battle we will continue to
fight. The gym area itself will receive
a facelift over the summer, but the locker rooms will not be afforded the same opportunity.
With the theme of lockers begun, our hallway lockers for
the 7-12 students should be replaced.
The current arrangement is for two students sharing a locker, but when
coats and bags (both school and athletic) are placed in those lockers, there is
little room for any academic material.
Additionally, items may spill out or have to be placed in the hallway
because of limited space, which results in a safety concern for hallway traffic
and an eyesore for any visitors who may be visiting our building. The lockers are built into the wall, meaning
there would have to be investigation into how those could be replaced and
additional space must be found for any other lockers if we were able to split
students into one space.
The final thought for this submission will be the parking
and traffic flow around the school.
Students and staff currently park on the north, east, and south sides of
the building. The north parking is a
concern with traffic flow, both vehicles and students crossing streets because
of the elementary entrance. The east
side of the building also raises safety issues because of its connection to
Highway 75. On the south side of the
building, there is little paved area for parking, resulting in mud and water
tracking into the building. Also, our
students park across the street on the south side, in areas not owned by the
school, which brings up administrative questions when it comes to safety and
jurisdiction. In addition to our
students and staff, anytime we host activities in the school, people attending
may park as far as two or three blocks away from the school before coming
through our doors. Ideally, a paved area
for all of our students and staff to park would be great, but any type of
maintained surface where vehicles could be collectively kept would be an
improvement over the current situation.
Next week’s
article will involve our athletic facilities which, while not primary in
education, certainly are key component in the educational experience for our
students. If I have not already, I hope
to see some of you in the building asking questions and observing first-hand
some of the concerns expressed by our students, staff, and the Board of
Education. Additionally, feel free to
review articles or provide input online at http://www.suptcorner.blogspot.com.
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