High school needs updating;  how, where under discussion

The seven Fairfield school board members, high school administrators and Superintendent Art Sathoff agree that Fairfield?s high school building needs updating.

After Monday?s board work session, everyone also agrees any improvements that need funding by district taxpayers will need broad community support. From there, priorities differ.

No plans are set, no options chosen. Each board member was asked to provide ideas and given a chance to share opinions Monday.

Remodeling option

Should the district build new or remodel? Board members Bob Waugh, Rich Metcalf and Jeri Kunkle talked about remodeling the high school building.

?We should check out how remodeling would address the issues,? said Waugh. ?But I think we need to enhance the science and technology areas first. We should decide financially what we can and can?t do, then take it a step at a time instead of trying to do it all at once. We?d have to do it in phases, remodeling in the summer.?

Why spend money to remodel if spending just a little bit more will build a new school? asked board member Amy Miller.

?If we remodel, there?s still the Americans with Disability Act compliance issues to address,? she said.

Waugh said feedback from the last bond issue [spring 2010] is people prefer remodeling the old building to building a new high school.

?No doubt, we have to make changes in the previous [failed bond issue] plan,? said Jerry Nelson. ?We?ll never get anything close to that [$24 million] passed. The building is well built. Some rooms are crowded, yes. I?d like an elevator installed on the west end to access the auditorium. Maybe we can make some rooms bigger. I?d like to see better lighting in the hallways. But I thought we updated the science rooms and lab recently.?

Fred McElwee, the district?s auxiliary services director, said the last update in the high school science rooms was in 1983.

?We did some work on the heating system there last year,? said McElwee.

HVAC

A major issue in the high school is air quality, and heating and cooling issues, according to administrators, teachers and board members.

?Heating and cooling is a problem,? said Waugh. ?I talked with an engineer at the [Iowa School Board Association annual] convention [in Des Moines, in November] and there?s a lot of things we can do other than what we?re doing at the middle school.?

Geothermal heating and cooling will be installed at Fairfield Middle School.

?I was there, too [talking with the engineer with Waugh],? said Nelson. ?Operating a geothermal system is cost efficient, but we?d never re-coup the initial costs.?

Waugh said the engineer is willing to come to Fairfield and present information to the board. Sathoff said it was too early, but it could be a possibility later.

?We are seeing more and more students with special needs, including those who need a temperature controlled setting,? said Sathoff. ?Fred [McElwee] does a good job of moving portable coolers to needed areas, or sometimes we Skype kids into class.?

Skype is an over computer lines telephone system, with video. So a Skype user can see, hear and interact with another Skype user at any distance.

Principal?s perspective

?ADA issues are huge,? said FHS Principal Aaron Becker.

Kunkle asked Becker to tell the board what some of the building?s issues are from his perspective.

?The layout of the building is difficult for Brian [Stone, FHS associate principal] and I to manage students as well as we?d like. There are so many different exits, it?s a security concern,? said Becker.

?But the main thing we want to concentrate on is the educational aspects. The classrooms need updating. The science labs are crowded because too many kids are assigned to one class after we made teacher cuts.

?Access to technology is not keeping pace with our needs,? said Becker. ?We need more computers, more hardware. Today I saw students pushing the laptop cart down the hall to the elevator because we have to share those computers between floors. The district is moving forward with technology, but students don?t get enough access.?

Becker acknowledged students can ? and do ? learn in the current environment.

?And that?s because we have some of the hardest working teachers,? he said. ?But do we want to live with the bare minimum? Our teachers and students live that environment each and every day.?

Seeking input

Board member Jeremy Miller said he didn?t know a lot about the previous bond issue and plan, nor has he ever sat in a FHS classroom.

?I?d like each teacher and principal in the high school to write down three things they would like changed,? he said. ?The board can review those and see what the priorities are, then see how much money it would take. I don?t know which areas need help the most. I agree we should not disrupt the school year with construction and I agree ADA compliance is important.?

Becker will ask high school staff for their top three priorities.

?The biggest thing is to concentrate on public awareness,? said Amy Miller. ?We need to find ways to get the community involved in the process, and keep the public informed. We need to reach those who are not already involved in the school.?

Metcalf, Jeremy Miller, Kunkle, Waugh and Sathoff agreed communication is key to informing the public.

Waugh said tours of the high school to inform voters last time were not well attended, but feedback from those who did take the tour were not good.

?The comments were the tours were scripted,? he said. ?They were led by students who only pointed out the negatives about the school. They didn?t share any enthusiasm or pride about their school.?

Board President Jennifer Anderson outlined the three committees and facility studies since 2005.

?Our last effort had specific remodeling and building plans, community members and staff were consulted and it was defeated,? she said. ?I?d like to know why people voted it down. I?d like a survey or invite comments.

?Maybe we could have a meeting and let people comment. Give the public an opportunity to say what they want. We had no public group support.?

She?d like to do it differently for the next effort.

?The high school is the cornerstone of a community,? said Anderson. ?What?s going to attract new families??

Sathoff said the district does have a good school/community partnership.

?We do have people that contact us who are ?school shopping ,?? he said. ?This isn?t about ?selling? a plan. It?s about getting community understanding, earning community trust and having community permission. Amy?s right that we need to get the community on board.

?We all need to agree on a message,? said Sathoff. ?We need to understand and be able to explain: Why is this important? Speak about our celebrations and accomplishments, too.

?We?re right on target with all four of your board goals,? he said. ?You want to have a high school facilities plan by the end of the year; communicate with the public; support educational improvements; and be fiscally responsible. We?ll need to implement all of those.?