High school repairs on Tuesday's ballot

Shawnee High School computer teacher Gaye Shepherd said she cannot take many precautions when protecting computers, printers and monitors at the school.
“When you walk in that building, you feel embarrassed,” she said.
The roof needs repair, and it’s not a nice place to be, Shepherd said.
The school, built in stages throughout the 1970s, is the topic of a bond issue on the ballot Tuesday. Also at stake is a new concession stand for Jim Thorpe Stadium.
Teachers and students are among the strongest supporters of the bond issue, which, if passed, would provide $3 million.
The issue would raise the average property owner’s taxes by $26 per year, SPS Superintendent Marilyn Bradford said.
James Coppock, a junior at SHS, said he believes the bond issue is a good use of money and will help the school to better itself.
The school needs these repairs, he said.
“I really wish our school could be a better place,” Coppock said. “It kind of gives a feeling of, it kind of makes the school feel downtrodden. It’s kind of a sore spot on the high school.”
Thomas Whitmore, a junior at the school, said he wants the changes the bond issue offers.
“I just really want people to vote for the school, because it needs to be fixed,” he said.
Along with making improvements to the roof at the high school, the issue will address remodeling restrooms, replacing lockers, retrofitting lighting and the electrical system and updating the heating and ventilated air system. Jim Thorpe Stadium will get a facelift as monies will be used to construct, furnish and equip new restrooms and a concession stand.
“They are pretty old restrooms and they probably need to be remodeled,” Whitmore said. “The concession stand is small for all the people that use it.”
Jim Brewer, maintenance and grounds director for the district, has dealt with this problem for a few years now. He said it’s time to make a full repair to the roof.
Throughout the years, the district has made patchwork of the roof, but because of ice storms the past two winters, it hasn’t helped too much, Brewer said.
Ann LaHue, a librarian at SHS, said she worries every day she won’t feel right with the potential health risks involved at the school.
“The minute I walk in the door, I get a headache from the mold and the mildew,” she said. “It’s for the students, for the students to learn, they need to be in a safe, clean, healthy environment.”
With all the leaks in the roof, that cannot be healthy, LaHue said, who also worries because the leaks could damage equipment and books in the library.
“We’ve got to take care of what is given to us,” she said. “We’ve got to get it fixed. We’ve seen too many books damaged, too many computers damaged. It’s just in disarray.”
Lynn Rehkopf, a mother of a junior at the school, said she believes this is an important issue to support.
“I think it’s really important to support the school system,” she said.
The building needs repair to continue operations, Rehkopf said.
“It makes me really sad,” she said. “Structurally, it’s a good building but with the roof in its condition, it won’t remain that way. “It will really help the morale of the kids if they felt their building is taken care of.”
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Josh Burton may be reached by calling 214-3926.