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Our Needs

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS

Infrastructure 

Roof Problems

  • The school’s old roof causes high heating, cooling, and repair bills that use funds we otherwise could save or redirect.
  • The flat roof constantly leaks despite repeated patching.
  • Those water leaks have caused both structural and interior damage.
  • We’ve explored remodeling to a pitched roof but the structure will not support the additional weight.
  • The roof’s inadequate insulation is not energy efficient.

Plumbing System Failures

  • Twice in the past 12 years, deteriorating sewer pipes have caused significant plumbing failures due to clogs and leaks.
  • A restroom leak led to unsanitary conditions in the tunnel beneath.

HVAC System

  • Our 15-year-old boiler system is nearing the end of its useful life which impacts our hot water supply.
  • Classroom exterior wall heating units freeze in cold weather then melt and leak over the floors.
  • Our aging air handling units require regular repairs and must soon be replaced.
  • Our rooftop air conditioning units are no longer efficient and require constant repairs.
  • All these issues result in unnecessarily high heating and air conditioning costs.

Electrical System

  • Our outdated electrical panels have circuit breakers that are increasingly challenging and costly to replace.
  • Electrical maintenance is complicated because of a mix of old and new wiring.

Technology

  • The old building’s cement block walls hampers using new educational technology tools.
  • Wiring must be strung along the hallway ceilings.
  • We have hotspots in some places and dead spots in others.
  • Our computer system is not housed in a climate-controlled room but in the principal's office, which poses various risks.

Safety & Security

  • We risk the safety and security of everyone in our school because we don’t have secure entryways or the ability to verify visitors before they enter the building.
  • The clear panels between the top of the lockers and the ceilings in the classrooms compromise emergency safety.

Administration

Offices

Our school's administrative offices have been patched together from various spaces and are too small to adequately accommodate all our administrative staff.

  • The principal's office, band room, and storage room are all located in a converted classroom.
  • Just recently an office reception area was created from an athletic storeroom.
  • The copy area was once part of the band room and the work area was once part of the principal's office.
  • These ill-configured spaces impact the ability of our staff and volunteers to perform optimally for our students.


Classrooms

Classroom Space

  • Three of the school’s original nine classrooms were needed for the principal's office, an extended daycare room, and an extended learning classroom.
  • The remaining six classrooms house 4-year-old kindergarten (4K), Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd grades, 3rd & 4th grades, 5th & 6th grades, and 7th & 8th grades.
  • Our school is at capacity with 135 students, and our limited number of classrooms restricts our ability to comfortably accommodate more.
  • All of the classrooms are too small for today's interactive teaching and learning styles and the ability to involve multiple mediums in the classes.

Dedicated Specialty Spaces

  • Our school struggles to provide the specialty activities that we know enrich our students’ educational lives.
  • We have a room to store our band instruments, but the band must rehearse in the gym and the choir in the church, which presents scheduling conflicts.
  • We lack necessary, smaller, dedicated spaces for music lessons and tutoring.

Multi-Use Areas

Gymnasium & Locker Rooms

  • Our small gym has non-regulation size basketball and volleyball courts, low ceilings, and limited spectator seating.
  • The gym’s limitations prevent us from hosting official basketball and volleyball games and tournaments and restricts our physical education class activities.
  • The gym’s old rubberized floor, which is no longer under warranty, is separating from the floor tiles beneath it and must be repeatedly patched to maintain a safe playing surface.
  • We’ve investigated new flooring, but that would cost approximately $50,000 because the tiles below are asbestos.

Cafeteria & Kitchen

  • Using the gym as our school cafeteria increases daily foot traffic on the already well-worn floor and requires time and labor intensive room setup and take-down each day.
  • Our functional but small school kitchen doesn’t have commercial equipment or an exhaust system and cannot be shared by the church because of its location.

Restrooms

  • The only restrooms available to anyone in our education building also double as our boys and girls locker rooms.
  • The rooms, original to the building, have outdated plumbing fixtures, are not handicapped accessible, and have dated décor.