Resident Gail Ralston said last week, the media reported a board member had visited the Bellefonte Area High School and suggested the district construct a gymnasium to match that complex. She said the media report mentioned the school districts were similar in size.
According to a data sheet provided by Ralston, Bellefonte had a median income of $51,650 and a mean housing of $184,349 in 2009. She said in Clearfield, the median income was $37,282 and the mean housing was $80,600 for that same year, a difference of $14,368 and $103,749, respectively.
Ralston also utilized the district-wide facility study for the Clearfield schools and determined what size the high school population will be and its need for gymnasium space. Using trimmed means, she learned the district’s population, grades seven through twelve at the high school, will be 1,125. She said the state Department of Education lists the current high school capacity as 1,201 students.
She said without any additions, the present gymnasium facility could house the new seven through twelve student population. She realized the auxiliary gymnasium will be converted to the district’s administrative office space, which will reduce available gymnasium space. However, she said a 500-spectator gymnasium with a divider would add a full-size gymnasium space.
Ralston said that two physical education classes could be held simultaneously by using the divider, in addition to the double gymnasium already available in the high school. She said the combination of the four gymnasium teaching spaces exceeds what’s necessary for 1,125 students, and a 1,000-spectator or 1,500-spectator gymnasium would “greatly” exceed the high school’s needs and is cost prohibitive.
“The price tag is $500,000,” she said, adding the media reported the cost of the high school expansion and renovation is currently at $34,025,500, including the larger gymnasium and changes to the basement elevator.
According to her, the district’s architectural firm has determined it cannot construct a second floor to the auxiliary gymnasium for office space but must build this space at an additional cost. She urged the board to notice the increased costs of these items.
Ralston pointed out the “contingency” line item that was built into the estimated costs for the high school project. She said it provided $1,465,000 and has become a “red flag,” as that amount has been far exceeded. She said option nine was approved by the board at the cost of $30,380,000.
“We are closer to (option) seven at $31.96 million or (option) four at $39.84 million. Many of you stated emphatically that these costs were too high for our community,” she said.
Ralston said the board also plans to consider new artificial turf for the football field and to construct a maintenance office. She said the building options also include stadium lighting and seating as well as additional parking and tennis courts.
“Our board President (Dave Glass) asks, ‘where do we stop?’ That is a very good question,” she said. “A plan that was accepted because of its cost seems to have been lost.
“Where is our long-range plan that the board has discussed with an elementary complex for our students? All of our funding reserves and plans are for one area only, the high school, while our funding diminishes as more things get added to the present plans. Take care of all our students with an all-encompassing plan instead of leaving our elementary kids with what is left to ‘make do.’”
She said at the last board meeting, she listened to discussion about the elevator at the second floor of the natatorium, reducing space in the junior high wrestling room and the possibility of gaining space by excavating the rifle range area. After the meeting, she was “dismayed” when viewing the building plans and discovering that the elevator also impacted the girl’s locker room and the alternative education space.
In options one through six, Ralston observed the elevator shaft was in the auxiliary gymnasium and not impacting any educational area. She said that looking at the needs of one student sub-set and not “taking care” of all students is misguided, and the elevator would allow disabled students to access the area.
“But it can be relocated. Funding was immediately found to excavate the rifle range, so why not use that money to benefit all students,” she said.
She asked the board if they knew what they were getting because of the many, different scales used in the drawings presented to them, while some didn’t even have a scale. She had several of the different options for administrative areas checked for size, and the engineer reported areas from 13,000 square feet to 7,200 square feet.
“Do you know what you need and what we are getting and paying for?” Ralston asked. She told the board she favored updating/renovating the tennis courts because it was a life-time sport, and they were utilized by both the students and the community.
Former CHS health and physical education teacher Judy Nisewonger told the board she spent most of her life teaching at the high school before retiring in 1999. She told the board that they were “driving her crazy” with their facilities discussions.
She said she was better able to instruct her former students on six tennis courts. And, she said the boy’s and girl’s tennis programs never lacked in participation until now while being forced to compete every match away and practice at the Clearfield Driving Park.
“People come here to work and live, and they want their children to have some decent opportunities,” Nisewonger said. “Tennis is a life-time sport just like swimming. Let’s not lose what we had here.
“I need six tennis courts if you give me classes of 30 to 32 students. You can’t teach on two or three courts. Six courts keep everyone active and the whole class moving. I could take all of you out there and make a great tennis team.”
Nisewonger also said the auxiliary gymnasium was “her best teaching gymnasium” because she was able to utilize its wall space for tennis, volleyball and soccer drills and organize gym class table tennis tournaments. She said the auxiliary gymnasium was frequently used as a holding area for swimming meets at the high school as well.
“Even though it was too small, it was the best teaching space I had,” she said. “That main gym, you couldn’t do anything in there because of all the stuff on the walls, but we could go in the auxiliary gym and practice hitting around tennis balls and volleyballs.
“And, that track out there, it’s beautiful, but it needs maintained. These facilities are for our students as well as our community, and they come first before you go considering artificial turf for the football stadium.”
Nisewonger encouraged the board to establish a committee, which she volunteered to serve on, to further examine the facilities before making any final decisions.