LETTER: Voters in the Lake Washington School District now have the opportunity to pass a bond that would modernize Juanita High School three years ahead of schedule.
Curious about the needs of the school and having some experience in assessing school infrastructures, I recently toured Juanita HS in the company of Associate Principal Timothy Hupperten and Head Custodian Les Richey. I immediately observed that the staff and students at Juanita keep their hallways, bathrooms, cafeteria, and classrooms clean and free of graffiti.
Further along, I saw that the facilities are way too small for the growing needs of the students. Everywhere I visited, I saw that teachers and students have been very resourceful in making good use of tight space.
But most important of all, I realized that Juanita High School has serious deficiencies in many essential operating systems, including those for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, electrical, and plumbing. And the roof leaks. For example:
• Even though five portables are in daily use, classrooms are still crowded, averaging 32 students per class with little space for storage, computer stations, or small group meetings.
• The limited science labs were built with lab benches meant for six groups of four students (24 student capacity). The hands-on experience of 32 students in the chemistry class is limited in this setting.
• The school’s electrical capacity is limited. Teachers curb their use of electrical devices to avoid blowing fuses. Students have lost their computer work when overloaded circuits popped.
• The school would clearly like to increase its technology capacity. But adding new wiring means drilling through the thick concrete pad that supports the building to access the underground wiring system.
• The girls do not have enough bathrooms. Over 500 girls rely on just 13 toilets in the girls’ two main bathrooms, only one of which is wheelchair-accessible.
• The roof is flat. Despite repeated repairs, water perennially pools on the roof and leaks into Juanita’s classrooms, hallways, library, theater, gymnasium, locker rooms and offices, causing expensive damage.
• The gas-powered boiler is too small to properly heat a building that has 18-foot tall ceilings. Not all HVAC ducts properly align with the classrooms. As a result, some classrooms are always too hot in the warm months, and too cold in the winter.
These are costly problems that no amount of elbow-grease and can-do spirit can solve. They affect the education of our children in very profound ways. Our children deserve better. I dearly love the Juanita HS community. Although I don’t have children at the school, I am a Juanita PTA member and have attended many sporting events, plays, and graduation ceremonies. I can personally attest to the spirit, pride and warmth that the students, teachers, principal, building staff and parents all feel about their school.
So, I voted YES for the bond and hope you do the same. Will you?
By Barb Billinghurst
Kirkland, WA.
Fast Facts on 2010 Levy and Bond Measures.
The fact that Juanita HS now needs extensive repair to correct serious problems caused by deferred upkeep is indeed unfortunate. This is not good stewardship of the public’s major investment in this building and not fair to the kids and teachers using it. However, that it again needs remodeling to accommodate changes in program needs should be expected during the life cycle of any school building.
ReplyDeleteThe district showed good foresight and invested wisely when they paid a premium for the construction of this relatively new award winning building in such a way that it would easily facilitate changes in educational program, building systems and maintenance as the needs arose. I was the Architect for the last major overhaul to convert this building from the original “open plan” concept to a more traditional teaching style. It’s quality of construction and adaptability to major changes in building systems and interior arrangements was impressive. It has many years of useful life remaining. To upgrade it again at this time could easily be justified and would certainly receive my favorable vote.
I thought I had voted yes on the last bond issue to “modernize” several major buildings also with many years of useful life remaining and appalled to find later that they were instead torn down and rebuilt. Obviously, adequate funds were included in the bond issue to enable this so called “modernization”. We are asked now to authorize “modernization” of Juanita HS and are assured that adequate funds are included to enable a tear down and replacement.
It seems clear to me that those in favor of tearing down Juanita HS and building a shiny new building, like the ones that the other guys in the district got, probably will vote yes on this bond issue.
On the other hand, those in favor of renovating this building to accommodate current program needs and repair damage from deferred maintenance should vote NO and ask the district to come back with either a realistic cost for true modernization, or justification for tearing it down and replacing it. The cost to do so would be miniscule compared to what appears to me to be potentially as much as 100 million dollars difference between these alternatives. I will vote NO.
"As a result, some classrooms are always too hot in the warm months, and too cold in the winter."
ReplyDeleteSounds like what my husband and his colleagues deal with at their company.
"The school’s electrical capacity is limited. Teachers curb their use of electrical devices to avoid blowing fuses. Students have lost their computer work when overloaded circuits popped."
Same thing happens to us at our house. Can someone help pay to upgrade our electricity?
"The girls do not have enough bathrooms. Over 500 girls rely on just 13 toilets in the girls’ two main bathrooms, only one of which is wheelchair-accessible."
I know of plenty of large families who crowd into one bathroom.
"The roof is flat. Despite repeated repairs, water perennially pools on the roof and leaks into Juanita’s classrooms, hallways, library, theater, gymnasium, locker rooms and offices, causing expensive damage."
What? Was the northwest formerly a semi-arid region? Who, in their right mind, builds flat roofs where it rains 10 mos out of the year? (Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on our part.)