School District Hopes To Replace Browne Elementary

There’s a river under Browne Elementary and it’s not caused by a mischievous third-grader’s secret science project.

Shoddy plumbing and ventilation is to blame. And that’s only one of the problems in the 83-year-old school, a building so riddled with structural problems that the Spokane School District hopes to spend $6.5 million to demolish and replace it.

There have been no protests from staff or parents. Superintendent Gary Livingston and school board members visited the school last month to explain problems and solutions.

“If you drive up Driscoll, you are taken by the beauty of Browne,” said principal Rodger Lake. “But the school is just a mess inside.”

Browne is one of a dozen high-priced meals on the district’s menu for a proposed 1998 bond issue. The school board is gathering public comments on the proposal and will formally decide whether to go forward with the bond issue in its current form later this year.

The largest item is a South Hill historical preservation project: a $33 million modernization of Lewis and Clark High.

The bond issue would also plug in $24.6 million for high-tech equipment and Internet-ready wiring. Money for the equipment will be divided among the schools on a per-student basis.

Rogers High would also get a $6 million facelift, much of it for physical education improvements. The cramped, dank locker rooms would be replaced and another practice gymnasium would be added.

The graceful auditorium would be remodeled to bring it to fire code and administrative office space would be expanded.

At an earlier public meeting at the school, 10 parents showed up to praise the improvements. But the proposal doesn’t help one of the pressing problems at Rogers: a tiny cafeteria.

The 300-student lunch room is inadequate for the 1,300-student school, said Ruth Dearing, parent of two Rogers students. Students spill into the school during the staggered lunch breaks, disrupting instruction.

“You’ve got kids sitting in the halls and teachers are trying run class right next to them,” said Dearing. “It’s a mess.”

The District also plans to spend $3.15 million on North Central High to expand the telephone-booth campus. North Central sits on 19 acres; the state recommends a 50-acre campus.

Integrus Architecture, for $47,000, is drawing a master plan for the campus. The district owns two acres of property on the south side of Indiana not currently used for instruction. The property is now vacant buildings.

The bond issue would also pay $2.5 million for better ventilation at Garry Middle School. The Hillyard school was built with an open concept that left the building with inadequate heating and air conditioning.

The Browne school proposal, like the LC modernization, could require students be shipped to a temporary school for a year.

Northwest Architecture Co. is preparing site plans that would allow on-site construction while the current Browne Elementary is open.

The new school would not be the concrete bunker design favored by the school district last decade. The design will fit with the site, and possibly include historical features from the old school, said associate superintendent Ned Hammond.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: PUBLIC MEETING The final public meeting on the proposed Spokane School District bond issue is 7 tonight at the North Central High cafeteria. Call 353-5242 for more information.