EDITORIAL: Schools looking better

If you’ve been to Hutchinson High School lately, you’ve noticed the difference.

Enter the 48-year-old school from the front entrance and you’ll see that the arches extending into the court area from the foyer have been repainted. Inside the foyer, the walls have been painted in two shades, to complement the terrazzo floor. If you look closely, you’ll see that the auditorium doors have been replaced. Keep on walking and you’ll see that the gymnasium’s six doors have been replaced, too. Look up, and there’s a new suspended ceiling in the hallway.

No, it might not be a new school, but the aesthetics are noticeably better.

Why the improvements? Has the school district landed a windfall of cash from a generous benefactor?

Not really. The district did receive extra help this past summer in the form of additional workers from the Minnesota Department of Jobs and Training, who freed up other summer workers to do the painting. And it benefited from federal stimulus money. But mainly the improvements are scheduled upgrades, according to Brian Mohr, the district’s director of building, grounds and student transportation.

Mr. Mohr admits that this past summer’s improvements are more noticeable than those made in past years. For example, about $328,000 was spent on a new high school track, and $80,000 was spent on the first of three years of improvements to Park Elementary’s exterior, where tuck-pointing is taking place. Then there was the painting of one of Park’s gyms, plus many Park teachers have been painting their classrooms on their own time. Over at Hutchinson Middle School, 12 classrooms have been recarpeted and chalkboards have been resurfaced with white board panels. Districtwide, 42 new SMART Boards were also installed during the summer. Now, every classroom at Park has a SMART Board.

Improvements are prioritized
The schools look better, which makes learning more enjoyable for the students and district employees. The public should like the makeovers, too.

The cosmetics of a building and anything that prevents its restoration, according to Mr. Mohr, “are the two things that your customers will complain about the most.” By customers, he means students, teachers, taxpayers — anyone who is concerned about schools and supports their operation. That’s all of us.

Yet cosmetics and restorations, while being among the least expensive upgrades to make, also rank lowest in the district’s capital investment plan. According to the district, school projects are prioritized in this order:

1) Emergencies that prevent health, safety or environmental hazards;

2) Emergencies that protect further degradation of the building envelope or infrastructure;

3) Projects that extend the useful life of the building envelope or infrastructure;

4) Projects that improve the functionality/efficiency of the building or infrastructure;

5) Projects that restore the building to original conditions; and

6) Projects that improve the aesthetics of the building.

Every year, the district spends between $800,000 to $900,000 on repairs and upgrades. Often, those upgrades aren’t noticed — at least not the way they were noticed this year.

For someone with an engineering background like Mr. Mohr, spending money on cosmetics can be difficult, when you know that more serious ailments are going on underneath the surface. For example, the high school needs new energy-efficient boilers to replace the two 48-year-old boilers there now.

On the other hand, a splash of paint or new doors “makes everyone say, ‘Hey, you’re doing something. Isn’t that great?’” Mr. Mohr said.

But he’s quick to add, “It’s kind of like doing cosmetic surgery on a 90-year-old patient … It’s difficult spending money on things that don’t extend the life or the functionality of the building.”

For example, during the past 10 years, all the roofs on the district’s school buildings have been replaced. Starting in another 10 years, they’ll need to be replaced again. It’s not something that will be noticed, but if they aren’t replaced and water drips through, everyone will notice.

Major work needed
Updating heating and mechanical systems are among the most expensive items on Mr. Mohr’s five-year capital improvement projects list. Each year, items on the list are pushed back because there simply isn’t money for them. For example, during fiscal year 2011, the District 423 School Board’s Facilities Committee is looking at as much as $3.8 million in repairs and upgrades at Park Elementary. Most of the work would be invisible: waterproofing the foundation, replacing classroom air handlers and so on.

At the high school, the committee is looking at $2.3 million in repairs and upgrades for 2011, and another $4.3 million for 2013. The plan includes $960,000 to replace toilet fixtures and plumbing at the high school. It also calls for new boilers at a cost of $1 million, and replacing a portion of the school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for another $395,000. That’s a lot of money for items most of us will never see.

But the work needs to be done. Mr. Mohr will gladly take anyone on a tour of the schools to show the work that’s needed. Over the past seven years, he’s had only about 15 people who have accepted his invitation. Those who enter the high school’s boiler room will see how outdated boilers are kept running with a combination of the district electrician’s ingenuity and a lot of life support.

The life support is needed because money that would normally have gone to infrastructure improvements have been used to support higher needs.

During the 1990s, bond referendums were passed. But because the district’s mission is education and enrollment was increasing at the time, classrooms were added to West Elementary and Hutchinson Middle School — at the expense of infrastructure improvements. “What happens is you have these projects that continue to get deferred until you have a major problem,” Mr. Mohr explained.

In his office, Mr. Mohr shows visitors two water pipes — one from Park and one from the high school. One has a large hole. The other is operating at half its water-carrying capacity because layers of mineral deposits have built up over the years.

“When I first took this to a board meeting, I said the building has coronary heart disease,” Mr. Mohr said. “And it’s going to have a heart attack.”

We encourage District 423 taxpayers who care about the patient — er, schools — to learn more. You can start by arranging a tour and seeing the problems firsthand. Mr. Mohr’s phone number is (320) 234-2609.

In the meantime, we appreciate the aesthetic improvements, and thank the school district for making them possible.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)