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.
