Passage Of District 81 Bond Would Benefit Many Schools

Imagine being a female athlete at Rogers High School and needing to get your ankles wrapped before practice.

It’s a routine chore, but at Rogers there’s a hitch. You’ve got to walk through the boys locker room for treatment.

“Girl coming through!”

There’s no response from anyone, so the coast is clear.

“I hate walking through here,” said a Rogers student who didn’t want to give her name. “It stinks.”

The stench isn’t so much due to the fact that the boys smell badly, but an outdated ventilation system and shower drains leading straight to the sewer line have left the boys locker room smelling like a Louisiana bog in June.

“The system backed up last year,” said Rogers principal Wallace Williams. “It wasn’t pretty.”

What was state of the art in 1933 when the school was built is clearly outdated. That’s why Rogers officials are hoping that Spokane approves a $74.5 million bond measure which would help improve the school.

The measure would have a significant impact on North Side schools.

If approved, Rogers would get $5.8 million; North Central, $4.2 million; Browne Elementary (which would be demolished and re-built), $7 million; and Garry Middle School, $2.2 million.

After demolishing Browne, Rogers is probably the school that requires the most work. It is the second oldest high school in Spokane. Lewis and Clark was built in 1911.

One Spokane resident who lives in Hillyard near Esmeralda Golf Course questions the feasibility of putting millions of dollars into Rogers.

Sometime down the road, school officials may ask voters to fund a multi-million dollar project to completely remodel Rogers, or maybe even build a new school.

Allan LeTourneau, a vocal critic of tax-payer funded projects, said he is concerned about money possibly being wasted at Rogers.

“My question is: Are the improvements being done with a long-range plan that can be utilized for a new school?

“Maybe we shouldn’t be wasting money now on Rogers, maybe we should just build a new one three to five year from now,” LeTourneau said.

District planning director Ned Hammond said there’s no denying that Rogers is next on the district’s list for a major makeover.

“If you asked me now,” Hammond said, “I think Rogers is a solid building, that’s why we’re putting the improvements into it.

“It is a very viable to do a remodel on. The projects that we’ve selected now we hope will extend the life of that building,” he said.

If the bond passes, Rogers would get new locker rooms, public bathrooms and a practice gymnasium.

Roughly 1,000 of Rogers’ 1,700 kids use the boys and girls locker room on a daily basis, Williams said.

But the boys locker room has just seven urinals, two toilets, three sinks and 10 shower heads. A concrete hallway separates the showers from one-half of the locker room.

Physical education teacher Dave Carson said the school also lacks athletic storage space.

“Our programs will be enhanced if the bond passes,” Carson said. “I’m a taxpayer and I know that when someone asks me for money I want to know, ‘Will I get more cluck for the buck?’ “With this school,” he said, “I know the money will be well spent.”

The school’s auditorium would also get a badly needed facelift.

The existing auditorium is supposed to be a 964-seat facility with seating both on the main floor and in the balcony above.

Close to 300 of those seats are in the balcony. But, because the balcony only has one exit, it’s seldom used. Current fire code limits seating to 49 occupants.

Also, existing seats are narrow by today’s standards and are closely spaced back-to-back and leave limited leg room.

The lighting system in the auditorium has received minimal upgrading since it was built.

The lighting fixtures, their positions, number of circuits and their distribution are inadequate to sufficiently light the stage.

“My biggest concern here is safety,” drama teacher Kris Freeland said. “It’s a very archaic rope and lighting system. Ropes fray and bars holding lights have fallen. We’ve been fortunate that there has never been anybody under them.”

The science rooms also leave a lot to be desired.

Two science rooms don’t have running water. Students using those classes must shuttle tubs of clean water to and from a hallway bathroom.

“We’ve increased science requirements but haven’t improved facilities to enhance the curriculum,” science teacher Karen MacDonald said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. Call Cityline What are your questions about the District 81’s Feb. 3 bond issue? Let us know by calling Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone and then pressing 9884. Please leave your name and a daytime phone number. We’ll answer as many questions as we can in upcoming stories.

2. Other projects Here is a list of other North Side projects included in the district’s $74.5 million bond measure: Madison Elementary would get an expanded library, splitting $700,000 with two South Hill schools. Shadle Park’s lighting and audio systems would be improved, spliting $500,000 with Ferris for similar updates. All the North Side schools would receive some of the $12.6 million for technology improvements, $12.8 million in electrical and safety upgrades and $3 million in telephone, communications and safety upgrades. Rogers, North Central, Shadle Park and Ferris would also split $1.5 million for science department renovations. North Central would get additional classrooms and a new gym; improved accessibility, safety and gender equity in locker and shower rooms and an expanded library. About $700,000 would be used for the district to purchase property near NC’s existing building.