Scores of community members attend W-MU building meeting

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? When BLDD Architects told the Winfield-Mt. Union Facilities Committee they would like to see 100 individuals at the upcoming community engagement meeting, where the firm would lay out basic plans for updating the school and take community input, the committee chuckled. Getting 100 people to the meeting seemed like a far-fetched dream.

However, as the clock ticked closer and closer to 6 p.m., the lunchroom tables, all designated with a letter, packets of information and possible plans and a plate of cookies, filled up. Soon, administration had to bring out more tables.

Eighty-three faculty, committee and community members packed into the W-MU cafeteria to see what could be done to improve the school?s layout and function.

?I was tremendously pleased with the turnout,? said Superintendent Jeff Maeder. ?This is a community that definitely supports the school. People could have been doing a lot of things tonight, but they chose to be here.?

At the start of the meeting, Maeder informed the community members of six items the school board and architects had earmarked as possible building projects. The list includes a new HVAC system and air conditioning, pre-K and kindergarten instructional space, multipurpose practice gym expansion, industrial technology expansion, and a new, secure main entry. ?We?re also looking at increasing our cafeteria space,? Maeder said to a cramped room, where adults were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

Maeder said in order to feed the 400 students at W-MU, lunch shifts begin at 10:45 a.m. and run until 1:10 p.m. ?It?s just not an effective space,? he said.

Community members then took a tour of the school, visiting each of the three floors. They were instructed to mark the map they were given with either green, yellow or red. ?It?s like a traffic light,? Sam Johnson, of BLDD Architects said. ?Green means go, it?s a good space. If you think the space is just ok, color it yellow and if you don?t like the space and you think it needs work, mark it red.?

The school?s library and competition gym were areas that received a thumbs up and color coded green. Areas that were marked red were the industrial arts (shop) classroom, cafeteria, locker rooms, practice gym, choir/band room and the HVAC system.

Following the building assessment, Johnson presented three options for how the building could be reconfigured to address the issues the school board and community members found. The community members were to review the plans and list what they liked and didn?t like from each.

The themes that emerged were having a main hallway that would run from the main (secure) entry to an event entry at the back of the building. Other positives from the plans included creating a commons area, which would be used as a cafeteria, having the family and consumer sciences near the kitchen, expanding the industrial arts classroom and bringing the pre-K and kindergarten classes from the portable classrooms into the main building.

Concerns listed were having enough parking and soundproofing the industrial arts and band rooms.

Amy Bock and her two sons, fifth and first-graders, are new to the district.

?Our kids are new to the district, so we?re still getting acclimated. We just moved here a year ago,? she said.

Bock said she thought it was a great idea to make this building project collaborative between the community and school district.

?This was a great way to be informed and involved with different things going on at the school,? she said.

?I hope the people who participated tonight appreciated the process and that their thoughts and feedback are truly going to be used in anything we do,? said Maeder following the meeting.

Maeder extended an invitation to community members who were not present at Monday night?s meeting. ?You haven?t lost the opportunity to participate,? he said. ?This is only going to get more interesting as we go.?

The next community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m., at the school. At this meeting, Johnson will present more fine-tuned building options as well as costs associated with the projects.

The Facility Committee will meet again on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m.