Improvements to the school solve issues and save money

Improvements+to+the+school+solve+issues+and+save+money

Jennifer Eisenbeis, Online News Editor

Over the summer, 10 things were improved on or added to the school from the bond money.

New doors replace gates that could not close quickly, or easily enough to secure the wings of the building in time in case if a security issue.

“The doors replace gates that used to be there,” Principal Mark Suchowski said. “We could pull [them shut], but we couldn’t use [them] during the day. The doors are a much better solution to that problem.”

The doors by the main office were added as a means to strengthen school security by directing the flow of traffic to the main office upon entry.

“The set of doors by the main office require anyone who uses the main entrance to go right to the main office and check in with someone,” Suchowski said. “It just makes it a lot more secure. No one can get buzzed in the front door and sneak around the office and go wherever they want.”

Because of their condition, and for security reasons, the boys varsity locker room lockers were replaced.

“The [lockers] in the boys locker room were in the worst repair,” Suchowski said. “They were big lockers so that kids could put a lot of gear in there but they weren’t real stable. So kids could pull the corner of a door and get at anybody’s belongings. It wasn’t safe, so we replaced them with sturdier ones that cannot be bent.”

The lockers were not the only thing replaced, as the old telephone system was replaced with a new web-based one to save money.

“We were paying a lot of money to have a lot of lines,” Suchowski said. “We have fewer lines now and more efficient phone service so it saves the district a lot of money.”

A new pool cover was added to the pool to save money on chemicals and heating.

“One of the things we spent a lot of money on is keeping the water warm and chemical in the pool in the water,” Suchowski said. “The new cover keeps the heat in and the chemical stays in too.”

The motors on the cables that raise the backboards were breaking, so basketball hoops were replaced because they do not make the same equipment anymore.

“In the main gym the backboards and mechanicals to raise the backboards were original [They were built in] 1969,” Suchowski said. “There’s more efficient ways to build them so it was time to replace them. It was just a matter of being more efficient and doing it that way.”