School task force outlines objectives
Sunday, December 9, 2007 4:31 AM PST
Editor’s note: This is the second
information piece submitted by the
Ontario 8C Facilities Task Force.
Task Force Purpose
The Ontario 8C Facilities Task Force was organized as an independent, volunteer group of community members whose purpose is to evaluate all school facilities within the Ontario School District, determine what improvements or changes need to be made to the facilities, and develop a long range facility plan.
DLR Group Architecture and Planning, LLC Needs Analysis
The data gathering for this process actually began this past spring. Funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation, an independent architectural firm (DLR Group Architecture and Planning, LLC) conducted a “needs analysis” for each 8C school facility. This analysis listed all improvements necessary to make each building minimally “warm, safe, and dry” for our students. A “needs list” was created that identified basic building systems that have failed and need repair, become obsolete and need to be replaced, exceeded their usable life expectancy or failed to meet current building codes.
The “needs list” focused on assessment of the existing building conditions only. Below is a brief summary of the findings from the DLR Group Facilities assessment.
DLR Findings
Following is a summary of the findings and recommendations for Ontario schools at the elementary, middle and high school level. Strong consideration should be made to modernize all of the elementary school buildings, including: fire and life safety upgrades, accessibility upgrades, site improvements, addition of electrical outlets and heating/ventilation systems controls. The kindergarten building at May Roberts Elementary should be considered for replacement. Total estimated cost for elementary school improvements: $6.3 million. Strong consideration should be made to modernize and replace various building components and systems at the Ontario Middle School campus. Modernization work is similar to the scope of work identified at the elementary schools. System replacements include: roofs, heating/ventilation systems, windows, carpet, ceilings, gym floor and bleachers. Total estimated cost for Ontario Middle School: $6.9 million.
Strong consideration should be made to modernize and replace various building components and systems at Ontario High School. Modernization work is similar to that outlined for the elementary and middle schools. System replacements include: roofs, windows, cabinets, gym floor, bleachers, lockers, heating/ventilation systems, piping, switch gear, P.A. system and outdoor track (replacement). Total estimated cost for Ontario High School: $8.3 million.
Next Steps
The DLR School Building Facility assessment provided the task force with a strong foundation to begin forming a comprehensive long range facility plan. We have begun the process of reviewing a number of issues, including adequacy of instructional space and support facilities, student safety, size and configuration of instructional space, building capacities, alternative grade configurations (e.g., including grades K-6 or K-8 at the elementary level), adequacy of play or exercise space, adequacy of field space, potential for future growth, community needs and wants and alternative sources of money to fund any proposed solutions. Members of the task force have been hard at work looking into these questions and the problems outlined in the “needs analysis.”
During the months of September and October, the task force members toured each school in the district. This was a valuable exercise that allowed us to see first hand the space, safety and structural issues in the schools. Some schools have greater needs than others. The task force concurred with the findings contained in the DLR report, as summarized above. Following is a summary of the task force member’s additional observations by school category.
Task Force Findings
Elementary Schools
• Every inch of space has been used, even unheated storage closets, stages, gyms and hallways, to accommodate modern instructional needs. For example, an old storage closet is being used for both speech therapy and counseling. There is not adequate space to allow for small group work and there is no room to accommodate growth.
• Priority must be given to enhancing safety at the schools. None of the schools have adequate surveillance systems. Many schools have classrooms that exit directly to the outside, rather than to a common corridor, making timely lock-downs nearly impossible. Multiple points of access also make the schools vulnerable to safety breaches.
• All libraries have been compromised to accommodate computer labs.
• Common spaces are overcrowded. Stages have been converted to classrooms, gyms are used for meals, P.E. classes, and break out groups. The common spaces are not suited for large school functions.
• Administrative space is inadequate, as much of the original administrative space has been converted to instructional space.
• Parking for staff and parents and bus pick-up/drop-off areas are largely inadequate and dangerous.
For example, lack of a safe bus lane at Aiken and May Roberts results in cars mixing with buses as parents and buses pick up and drop off kids at the same time. At Aiken, buses pick up on the main street, often blocking traffic.
• Landscape irrigation at several of the schools is done using old style hand lines. This is a safety issue and a poor use of custodial man hours to set the lines during irrigation season.
• Modular building at May Roberts housing four classrooms is well past it’s projected life span and is now in disrepair and should be removed.
• Aiken needs a minimum of two additional classrooms and restrooms just to cover the newly instituted all-day kindergarten.
• A number of the elementary schools have inefficient single pane windows that need replacement, as well as worn carpet and door hardware in poor condition.
• A number of schools need to upgrade or replace heating/cooling systems.
Middle School
• Overcrowding is most problematic at the middle school; this is especially evident in the hallways between classes.
In one building, students must walk one way outside and one way in the interior to accommodate traffic.
• The facilities create a poor learning environment for students. The school uses former hallways, teacher lounges and the windowless basement wood shop for classrooms and small group sessions to meet modern instructional needs.
• The configuration of the buildings limits their usefulness and additional flexible space needs to be added somewhere on the middle school campus, at a minimum.
• There is little sense of security at the campus. The current configuration of the campus creates safety problems.
Students must travel between buildings, across a street closed only during school hours, with supervision being nearly impossible.
The entire campus is essentially open to the public.
In the event of a lock down, push-bar doors must all be manually locked with an Allen wrench, a process taking approximately 35 minutes. There is not a security/surveillance system.
