In Dire Need Wear and tear take toll on Iola school buildings

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories on USD 257 schools. The series takes an inside look into USD 257’s facilities and sheds light on the problems the district faces.

Dim, flickering lights illuminate crumbling plaster walls of Iola High School’s basement.
Groundwater leaks have left stains and damage along the concrete floors and walls. Before the school’s remodel in 1988, the basement was its gymnasium. Now it resembles a scene in a scary movie.
Scott Stanley, USD 257 director of operations, shines the light of his cell phone above his head into an air shaft.
“The air from all three levels of the building is pulled down into here,” Stanley said gesturing to the basement. “It then is pumped back up into the school.”
Dangling plaster and excess moisture are near this air duct, the same one through which air is pumped back into the school.
The maintenance crew works diligently to keep moisture out of the basement but groundwater keeps sneaking in.
The IHS basement is just one of multiple problems USD 257 constantly fights.
“It’s a never-ending battle,” Stanley said.

STANLEY, along with Superintendent of Schools Jack Koehn and IHS administrators Stacey Fager and Matt Hoffman, gave a tour of the facility and detailed issues with which they have to deal — the high school was built in 1916.
School board members currently are surveying district patrons for their feedback before deciding a bond issue to either renovate or build new schools.
“Our list has gotten so long and so big it’s going to either take a bond (proceeds) to fix the repairs or build a new school,” Stanley said.
The tour started outside the science building. Before entering Stanley could already point out a problem. At least once a year the sewer backs up near the building and sometimes floods the bathroom.
Inside, Stanley draws attention to the ceiling in the cafeteria. The science building was built in the 1960s and it currently has a roof on top of a roof, one tar the other metal.
“The roof on this building leaks,” he said, pointing at damaged tile. “The roof replacement would be $300,000.”
In the cafeteria, students chat and visit with friends. It’s a typical lunch day but sometimes the cafeteria is littered with buckets catching leaking water.
The chemistry lab is a blast from the past. The lab has not been updated since it was built. Koehn said STEM rooms (science, technology, engineering and math) — multiple purpose rooms — would be useful in a new facility.
Throughout the science building and the main building cracks spread along walls and into the ceiling.
“We just filled these seams last summer and they already are showing up again,” Stanley said.
Every building settles, but the high school’s problems are becoming drastic. On the south side of the school classroom floors are beginning to buckle. Old ductwork underneath the school has started to settle underground. Inside the faculty lounge the floor has dropped four inches. The floor begins to slope into a pit.
“To properly fix this issue would cost us $130,000,” Stanley said.
Safety on campus is a priority for the district. Students must cross Cottonwood Street to attend science and agriculture classes and eat lunch.
Fager said since the remodel in the 1980s it is harder to see down each hallway.
“We have two cameras in this hallway,” he said on the second floor. “We could have a teacher stand right here and monitor the hallway but there are so many corners we don’t know what is going on around the corner.”
Those who visit the building  do not typically see these problems.
“When we have people visit the building they are here for sporting events so they are in the nicer, newer portion of the building,” Fager said.

THE MIDDLE school is bubbling with problems — literally.
On top of the middle school roof large tar bubbles have formed. The roof was re-done in 2008 and has already had issues. In the summer the bubbles grow.
“Once these pop we are going to have a huge problem on our hands,” Stanley said.
The school, which was built in 1923, was remodeled in 1994. It is the most recent remodel in the district.
“We have the best building in the district,” Principal Jack Stanley said.
Although the middle school may be the “best” building out of the five in the district, it still has problems. The school needs to be updated to Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. The only entrance ADA compliant is on the north side of the building.
Technology continues to evolve every year and Stanley said this is becoming a problem for the buildings.
Maintenance crews have to rewire rooms to create computer labs or stations, and it’s a struggle to maintain the right climate for computers.
“These older buildings have 18-inch thick cement blocks and it’s hard to wire it for access points,” Stanley said.
Safety is an issue at the middle school as well.
The school has multiple entrances  and it is difficult to monitor each one.
Sidewalks have bright yellow paint here and there because of large cracks and to alert about trip hazards.
Outside parking, pick-ups and drop-offs are another safety hazard. Since there is only a small parking lot parents have to park along East Street on both sides to pick up their children, which makes it difficult for buses to use the street.

SO FAR this year the maintenance crew has spent nearly $79,000 in daily projects. Maintenance projects have to be taken out of capital outlay, which takes away from other items in the district.
“I know it’s a trade-off,” Koehn said. “If you’re spending money on this you think what could you be spending it on. This community has got its money’s worth out of these buildings.”
Koehn said those who want to give feedback on the district but haven’t received a phone survey may visit www.usd257.org to take an online survey, which will be available until March 17.