OUR BUILDING NEEDS
With sections of our building ranging from 30 to 70 years old, our school has design and infrastructure deficiencies that must be addressed to support the learning environment that students and staff require today.
Our school requires major upgrades and repairs to meet today’s standards for health, safety, security, and indoor air quality.
HVAC systems: Aging heating and ventilation systems reduce air quality in the oldest sections of our building, especially the elementary classrooms and the high school gym. With limited temperature control and lack of air conditioning, spaces within the building do not provide the environment needed for optimal learning. In addition, our wood shop has no ventilation.
Security and access at school offices: The high school/elementary school office is located in the middle of the school, which makes it difficult to identify and safely control who is entering and leaving the building. Parents are required to check in at the district office and then go outside to wait at the elementary school vestibule to pick up a child.
Drop-off and pick-up area: The school’s drop-off and pick-up area poses safety risks. Currently, parents drop off and pick up their children in the same area where buses load and unload. The only school parking lot is across the street from the school, which means students and parents must cross the road.
Elementary bathrooms: The bathrooms in the elementary wing are over 60 years old and fail to meet federal accessibility standards.
Playground equipment: Our playground is outdated, with rusting equipment and a wood chip play area that is not compliant for students with disabilities.
Education has evolved significantly in the decades since our classrooms and learning spaces were last upgraded.
Our students need dedicated space for Career and Technical Education (CTE). To prepare our students for the future and continue providing a variety of career and technical programs, our woods and metals labs need dedicated space and storage to accommodate today’s industry standard equipment. Currently, students in our industrial technology programs are forced to share space with maintenance staff.
Ranging from 50 to 70 years of age, our oldest classrooms require renovations to meet today’s standards. Classroom cabinets and furniture in the oldest sections of the building were installed in 1955 and 1968. Due to lack of storage, some teachers must use abandoned bathrooms to store supplies and equipment.
Our students need more gym and cafeteria space. Students of all grade levels share one 60-year-old gym for athletic practices, physical education classes, performing arts and other school events. The school’s other gym is also used as a cafeteria, limiting its use for physical education space.
Our students need improved performing arts experience. The current stage used for student performances, concerts, plays, graduation, and other events needs a new sound system, acoustics, lighting and controls, curtains, rigging and other enhancements. The failing sound system makes it difficult for audiences to hear students during plays and school performances.
Our students need small group rooms and a dedicated commons area for collaborative learning. Currently, there is only one staff workroom that provides a separate area for students to receive specialized attention outside of the classroom. There are no spaces outside of the classrooms, offices, or gyms that allow students to gather and collaborate for group work. Students often have to use the floor by their lockers as a work space.
Our building requires other major repairs that cannot be addressed with our district’s annual maintenance budget.
HS Gym floor: The floor in our 60-year-old gym has been sanded several times, now requiring replacement instead of repairs.
Fire alarm system: The fire alarm system uses components that are no longer available, making repairs nearly impossible.
Public announcement (PA) system: The school’s failing PA system forces staff to step out of classrooms to hear announcements, and poses a safety concern in the event that students and staff cannot hear emergency announcements.
Locker Room Showers: The current locker rooms have communal showers that no longer meet today's codes.
Hallway Flooring: Aging vinyl flooring, in some cases containing asbestos, is failing and needs replacement.
Bathrooms: Finishes in the high school bathroom are in need of replacement.
Building exterior: Windows in the wood shop space and throughout a majority of our elementary classrooms need replacement. The exterior of the building requires tuckpointing and caulking repair around windows and expansion joints.
Oldest sections of roof: The 1995 sections of the roof are 27 years old and beyond life expectancy, risking water intrusion and internal damage to the building.
Site Improvements: Sidewalks on the southeast side of the building are in poor condition and need to be replaced. Buried fuel oil tanks are no longer needed and should be removed to avoid corrosion, soil and water pollution.
Our building fails to meet state recommendations for educational adequacy in several categories identified by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
An educational adequacy assessment evaluates a school building’s learning areas compared to standards set forth by the MDE. This assessment does not evaluate the condition of the building or deferred maintenance items, only its ability to provide the spaces and resources required to meet the needs of students.
Our elementary wing fails to meet state standards in six out of eighteen categories, while our high school wing fails to meet state standards in seven. The results of the educational adequacy assessment conducted in 2022 for our school are shown below.
