Participants in Wilson bond tour hear about elementary concerns

Troy Wade, of the district’s architectural firm, DLR, and members of the Community Vision Team, talk Tuesday night about a proposed $78.5 million USD 489 bond issue.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

About 50 people gathered at Wilson Elementary School on Tuesday night for a tour and Q &A session related to a proposed Hays USD 489 $78.5 million bond issue.

The cost for the 30-year bond will be $16.43 per month for a $150,000 home.

Teachers talked about the small spaces they have in the Wilson building, about 650 square feet for most of the classrooms.

“Once you get 24 desks in there, it is pretty crowded,” Anita Scheve, Wilson principal, said of the classrooms.

The bond proposal would build two new elementary schools and renovate Roosevelt Elementary School. A new elementary school would be built adjacent to existing Wilson school, and the old school would be torn down when the new school opens. The Wilson pool will remain in place.

John Thissen, USD 489 superintendent, Tuesday says the district has only had $5 million in bonds since the 1980s compared to more than $100 million for some schools the district competes against in athletics.

Scheve said the new classrooms would be closer to 900 square feet and 1,000 square feet for kindergarten.

Some teachers, including Betsy Forinash, have done away with their own desks to make more room for student activities. Her classroom has a sink, which is important for science projects, when it works. Her room had a sewer line break recently while children were in the room, and they had water all over the floor.

Amy Wasinger, an O’Loughlin Elementary teacher and also a member of the Community Vision Team that helped create the bond proposal, said the rooms are not conducive to modern teaching techniques.

The reading workshop encourages students to get on the floor or other comfortable positions to read. The students also are gathered in small groups to work on science and other projects.

Wasinger said there is just nowhere to put the students or files or classroom libraries.

The Wilson boiler is original to the building when it was constructed in 1959. The district can no longer buy parts, and it often keeps rooms as hot as 85 degrees in the middle of the winter.

There is also no common space for children. The gym is also used as a cafeteria and auditorium, which means it is constantly booked. Children have an average of about 12 minutes for lunch due to the tight scheduling for this space.

Wilson elementary was built in 1959 and has the original boiler system. Once the boiler is on for the season, it can’t be shut down. Some rooms are as hot as 85 degrees in the middle of winter.

Wilson also has no storm shelter. Children have to shelter in the hallways, which have skylights. The school has also had problems with these skylights leaking when it rains.

Scott Summers, technology director, said technology has been challenging in the district’s older buildings. The building materials used in 1959 when Wilson was built are not compatible with computer networks. Wilson has to have an Internet connection in each room because the signal will not pass through the walls.

One attendee asked why the district chose to build new elementary schools rather than renovate. Wilson is valued at $5.9 million. The cost to renovate would be $16 million, and a new building will cost $21 million. Based on the value of the building and the cost to renovate compared to the cost of a new building, the architects recommended a new building.

Wilson Elementary School has no storm shelter, and students have to shelter in this hallway, which has skylights. This hallway also has a steep ramp, which makes mobility difficult for students in walkers and wheelchairs.

Amber Beverlin, of the district’s architectural firm, DLR Group, said the district will save about $200,000 per year in operational costs by going from four elementary schools to three. This does not include other savings that can be reaped by eliminating travel between schools for some staff and other efficiencies gained with the new schools.

All three of the elementary schools will be able to accommodate five sections of kindergarten and first grade and four sections of second through fifth grades. This means that the schools will have room for anticipated growth. In the short-term, the district has a goal to reduce class sizes.

At the middle school, the bond would enlarge the cafeteria and add a new gym for physical education. Both facilities at HMS were designed to hold about 300 students. Today, they are serving 700 students. In addition, the kitchen at HMS prepares food for another 400 students at Wilson.

Jessica Younker, nutrition director, said the food service equipment is stored throughout the cafeteria because there is limited storage.

Valerie Wente, Community Vision Team member, said as many as 100 students have to use the gym space at one time for PE. If there are any events scheduled in that space, all those students have to be moved into the hall for their class time.

At the high school, the district will add an auditorium, which had been a dream for the district since the high school was built in 1981. Classrooms will be added and enlarged and the Career Tech Education classrooms will be renovated.

Secure entrances would be added to all schools.

In addition, O’Loughlin Elementary will be renovated to accommodate the Westside Program, Learning Center and the Early Childhood Center.

The district considered breaking the bond into several smaller bonds over time, but Troy Wade of DLR said he district stands to save tens of millions of dollars by doing the 30-year bond. Interest rates are at record lows, which can save the district at least 1 percent. The inflation rate for construction is 3 percent to 5 percent.

Mike Walker, of the Community Vision Team, talks Tuesday night about a proposed $78.5 million USD 489 bond issue.

If the bond does not pass, the problems with the buildings do not go away, and the district does not have enough in capital outlay to address all the issues, Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, said.

The district would have to come back with yet another bond proposal.

Should that happen, Wente said the best scenario is a new bond project would cost millions more. The worst scenario would be a school would have to be closed because of structural or mechanical issues and there would be nowhere to put the students.

Ana Unsworth, a parent who has students in high school and elementary school, said she thought she could get behind the school bond plan.

Members of Nabholz Construction, the construction manager at risk, Paul Wertenberger Cosntruction, and Shanna Dinkel, assistant USD 489 superintendent, talk about the bond construction process. Ground could be broken within a year if the bond passes, and new elementary schools could be open another 12 to 18 months after groundbreaking.

“Will I vote for it? Probably,” she said of the bond. “They have put a lot of good work into it, and they answered all the questions I had and my major questions were put at ease.”

If the bond passes, groundbreaking could occur on the new schools within a year. Construction could take between 12 to 18 months. Some projects would be done simultaneously with the new elementary schools likely being the first projects started and finished.

The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, Oct. 17. Advance voting is set to start on Oct. 23, and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.