Small group hears GCHS Feasibility Study findings
Group discusses GCHS study findings
By Logan Watson
GCHS Principal Todd Sheppard goes over findings from his school’s facility observation, as well as other topics from the district’s Feasibility Study.
A small group of interested individuals met at Gibson County High School last week to discuss the results of the GCSSD’s feasibility study’s facility observations.
GCHS Principal Todd Sheppard walked the group through the findings, including some areas that needed to be addressed now that the district’s Board of Trustees has committed to investing in the existing schools. Board members Tom Lannom and Eddie Watkins were in attendance at the meeting, as well as Assistant Principal Amanda Carey and teacher Tina Eddlemon.
With an enrollment of 379 at the time of the study and a functional capacity of 596 total students, only 64 percent of the campus is being fully utilized. The oldest parts of the school, which were constructed in 1975, currently house the welding shop, automotive bay and other Career and Technical Education classrooms. The high school came five years later, with the addition of an auxiliary gym and auditorium in 2010.
“We still have room to grow in the building,” Sheppard said.
Gibson County High School received “good” rankings in the areas of Building Envelope and Structure, Accessibility and General Condition and a ranking of “fair” in the area of Health & Safety.
In addition to problems with moisture and cracks in CMU blocks and damage to exterior areas, the district may also need to replace a section of the school’s roof. During the site visit, represenatatives from The Lewis Group found water pooling on a section of roof that was installed in 2009 after having no rainfall for the previous two days. Several leaks were also found.
The inspectors also found several issues with safety, including doors that needed to be reset and other access issues, like the lack of a secure vestibule.
“We have to upgrade our entrances so that we can protect our people,” Sheppard said. “Some of the fixes at the schools are pretty easy to do. The one at Gibson County High School would be kind of tricky.”
Lannom agreed, telling the group that secure vestibules at GCHS and Dyer would require “pretty major construction.”
“That will probably be one of the first things that we talk about,” he said.
Sheppard and the group also talked about other issues affecting the school that were not addressed by the feasibility study, such as water lines, sewer lines, electrical issues with the HVAC unit and a FEMA tornado safe room. Some issues are being addressed now and should be completed before school starts in August. Others, like the tornado safe room, will be coming in the future.
Sheppard went on to discuss some of the other findings in the study, including Lewis Group’s recommended consolidation options, for the benefit of those that had not yet seen the results.
After the meeting, there was some skepticism among members of the Citizens Against Consolidation group on Facebook about why Sheppard brought up the consolidation options, suggesting that the Board’s recent vote against consolidation could have been disingenuous, but those comments seem to have been deleted as of this writing. One of the attendees likely misunderstood Sheppard’s intention before sharing their interpretation with others.
Board Chairman Lannom and others discussed the possibility of utilizing space in some areas of the district for an expanded Pre-K or Early Childhood Education program, as well as the district’s unique relationship regarding Kenton School. The topic of Early Childhood Education will likely come back up in future GCSSD Board of Trustees meetings as the district watches how Obion and Weakley counties implement similar programs.
Sheppard also informed the group that the feasibility study has been removed from the website citing safety concerns, but there is an area on the website where the public can submit questions about the study and view a list of answers to frequently-asked questions.
“Homeland Security said it would not be smart to put all of this stuff up there,” Sheppard said. “There are exits and floor plans…that’s not good stuff to put out there for the entire public.”
After the feasibility study was initially released, The Tri-City Reporter also chose not to publish some facility observations findings to help protect students from those that might seek to do them harm. Director of Schools Eddie Pruett stated in a notice on the district’s website that students are in no immediate danger but the district felt that it would be better to err on the side of caution.
