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Clinton wants to fix aging school

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

This tiny kitchen—16 feet by 30 feet—feeds about 500 people daily between staff and students at Clinton Elementary School. Improvements, upgrades and renovations at the school are included in a $10 million referendum the school district is asking voters to OK in November.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Boxes of supplies are piled to the ceiling in the school’s art room.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Ventilators that provide heat and air exchange in many of the classrooms at Clinton Elementary School are old and obsolete. Replacement parts for maintenance and repairs are no longer available.

CLINTON — First of all, they want to bring children into school safely in the morning.

Then they want children to have space to learn.

Finally, they want to heat and cool that space in a comfortable, efficient way.

Clinton School District officials and employees have a long list of upgrades they want voters to approve in a November referendum.

The district will ask for voters’ approval to spend $10 million to improve the district facilities.

The majority of the money would go for construction and upgrades at Clinton Elementary School. The rest would be spent on security upgrades at the middle and high schools.

The $10 million figure is based on architectural plans. Contractor J.P. Cullen & Sons is reviewing the project and will come out with a revised construction estimates soon, Business Administrator Kathy Zwirgzdas previously told The Janesville Gazette.

If the referendum passes, the district expects improvements to breathe 30 more years into the life of the elementary school built in 1955 and last expanded in 1991.

“Even in tough economic times, this is important,” District Administrator Pam Kiefert said. “If it gives us 30 more years in this building, then that is the best choice.”

Maintenance workers were eager to show the Gazette the kinds of things that need fixing at Clinton Elementary.

The tour included:

-- The cafeteria: Maintenance workers Paul Knveppel and John Schoville pointed out the wall that they want to make into doors. At the southeast end of the school, the doors would lead to a bus lane. Students could get off the bus and walk right in the doors rather than crossing other traffic. A new parent pick-up area also would improve safety, Schoville said.

“It’ll take buses totally away from car traffic and young traffic,” he said.

-- The school’s tiny kitchen: The 30-by-16-foot kitchen feeds 450 kids every day, Schoville said.

Architectural plans show separate cafeteria and gymnasium space.

-- Hallways and classrooms: Bins and boxes are piled in and on top of shelves, often to the ceiling.

If the referendum passes, the district would build expand some rooms. Classrooms are 675 square feet, Knveppel said. Today’s standard for elementary classrooms is 900 square feet, he said.

“It’s hard to hold meaningful learning experience when children are crowded into grid classrooms where they can’t really move about or work in groups,” Principal Joe Bellante said.

Hallway lighting would be upgraded from bare fluorescent bulbs, and floor and ceiling tiles in hallways and classrooms would be replaced.

-- The “Univent” heating and air exchange units: The old models are tough to maintain, Schoville said.

“Anything you’re required to do, you have to fabricate,” he said.

-- The proposed geothermal boring field northeast of the school: The school’s boiler system must be upgraded, Schoville said. Studies have proven a geothermal system would work for Clinton elementary.

Geothermal costs a little more to build—$1.25 million versus $1.07 million for a conventional heating system, Zwirgzdas said. But depending on the way savings are calculated, geothermal would pay for itself in up to 11 years.

A geothermal system uses pipes to pump liquid deep underground. In summer or winter, the system would heat or cool the liquid and pump it back through the school to warm or cool it.

In 25 years, the district would spend nearly $1.5 million more to operate and maintain a conventional system than a geothermal system.

-- The school’s back door toward the high school athletic stadium: A new access road would open ambulance access to football games. The road would also keep delivery trucks off the playground.