JCHS Steering Committee Tours High School

crowded hallway — Hallways are too small for substantial number of people to pass through at one time.

The committee reviewing the need for a possible new or renovated Junction City High School saw problem areas ranging from locations where water has leaked to rickety bleachers in the Fiffe Gym when they toured the existing facility on Thursday.

Officials have pointed out the current building is in need of substantial infrastructure improvements. Some of the issues noted on the tour include:

–A cafeteria that seats only one fourth of the students.

–Bleachers in the Fiffe Gym that are not stable, and were the original bleachers in the gym back when the school was built in 1958. Also there are no rails in the middle of the bleachers in either the Fiffe or Shenk Gyms or at the Al Simpler Stadium.

–None of the restrooms meet ADA ( Americans with Disabilities ) standards.

–A portion of the floor in the foyer area will have to be dug up later this year to repair a clog.

–Water floods into different portions of the building during big rains including the foyer, Fiffe Gym and girls locker room.

–There is no FEMA designated shelter in the building. The designated shelter is in the hallways of the school.

–The media center ( library ) is outdated and not located in a central location so it can be the hub of the building.

–The main office is cramped meaning some employees such as nurses, registrar, bookkeeper all have to be housed in the Deever Center on the south side of the high school complex.

–One classroom that is used as a combination science – english classroom was shown to the committee. That room was much smaller than science rooms at the middle school.

–The auditorium is not big enough. It can seat only 592 while a typical Class 6A school should be able to accomodate about 750.

Different concepts that could be possible for a new school or renovated facility were presented to the committee. The new school cost estimates ranged in price from $65 million to $101 million, but nothing is anywhere near final at this point in the process. The committee will continue meetings this fall and could make a recommendation to the Board of Education on a possible bond issue in January. Officials have pointed out between the heavily impacted federal military aid and state aid received by the district that could possibly be used to finance a new school.