Middle school awaits repair funds
With budget cuts looming, administrators of the Buena Vista public school system are trying to explore every avenue to pay for badly needed structural repairs.
A warped gymnasium floor at Parry McCluer Middle School is one of many structural problems the school is facing, due to a faulty heating system that has been in place for more than 20 years, says the school’s principal. Steam from heating system pipes leaked underneath the wood and caused the floor boards to warp.
“The gymnasium got closed off because the floor bubbled up,” said Principal Troy Clark. “It’s a safety issue. The gym won’t be open for use for PE anytime soon.”
Parry McCluer Middle School hasn’t been renovated since 1985. Clark said all the pipes and fittings in the heating system are old, and the leaks that keep springing up have not only caused blistering floors, but have also damaged walls, destroyed paint and persistently overheated areas including the girls’ locker room.
Buena Vista schools Superintendent Rebecca Gates and Tim Reamer, the city’s economic development director, applied in to the state in mid-February for about $30 million in federal stimulus money to help fund the project.
According to their proposals, the stimulus money would cover the cost of replacing pipes and repairing steam damage, as well as partial roof and window replacement, office renovations and asbestos abatement.
But Reamer said he does not expect the city to receive much, if any, money for the middle school renovations. The criteria for receiving stimulus money for construction projects include having the preliminary engineering done and being able to proceed within 180 days.
“We would be hard-pressed to meet that deadline,” Reamer said.
Virginia is expected to receive about $365 million in stimulus money for distribution directly to school systems, according to Clark. But Reamer said that won’t help Parry McCluer, as that money is reserved to help offset state budget cuts, not for building repairs or construction.
Reamer said localities will also be able to apply for grants from federal agencies to help fund their proposed projects if the stimulus money does not come through.
Although some stimulus deadlines have passed, such as the one to submit proposals to the state, Reamer said the timeline for distribution of the money is still not clear.
“I’m not sure anyone’s aware of that yet,” he said. “I don’t even think the government knows yet.”
In the meantime, school administrators are trying to stay on top of the problems at Parry McCluer by dealing with them one at a time. Students are taking physical education classes outside while the weather is warm, and health classes inside when temperatures drop. And school officials plan to have the leaking pipes replaced in April during the students’ spring break.
While the pipe replacement will certainly help, Clark said many more renovations are needed before the school will be back in good shape. And, he said, the solutions are temporary at best.
“You kind of fix one problem and then another is created,” said Clark. “It’s kind of a domino effect.”
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Produced by
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Lead Supervisors:
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Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
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