Recently, drones from GH2 Architects flew over several schools in the Winslow Unified School District (WUSD) to better spot problems with student pick-up and drop-off and to better understand the improvements that the district may want to make to existing buildings.
Superintendent Connie Gover had told the architects that they should look towards Bonnie Brennan Elementary School because it currently has the biggest issues with pick-up and drop-off as far as traffic goes, and eliminating that issue would solve many problems during those times.
Robert Wadsack, with GH2 Architects, spoke to the WUSD governing board last week with their findings to speak about potential upgrades or new constructions within the district. The architectural firm walked through many of the schools to note damages that may need to be prioritized for repair over the next couple of years. The district is in the preliminary stage of rehabilitating or constructing new buildings and has not decided whether the majority of the resources will be put towards fixing the current buildings that the district has or possibly creating a new kindergarten through eighth grade school from scratch, according to Superintendent Connie Gover.
Gover noted that there are some issues with parents regarding a new school, saying that some parents do not want their kindergartners going to the same school as eighth graders, which is also a concern for the district. It may make more sense in the long run to have a single building for all grades under high school, especially when several of the elementary schools and the junior high are currently all in need of repair and are several decades old. The last building that was built by the district was the new high school, which first held classes in 2004.
GH2 Architects and the district have been using a survey to gauge what issues need to be addressed with the most urgency. The survey was originally going to end on Nov. 1, but it was decided to extend it to continue the data collection. They said during their presentation to the board that they currently have over 250 surveys filled out but most of these are from faculty and administrators, which, according to Wadsack, can hold certain biases. He would much rather see the community as a whole represented in the survey, so they are urging anyone who has not currently filled out a survey to please do so.
Wadsack said to the board that he expects from now until April, they will be collecting data, looking at what issues are discussed with the district, interviewing students, area faculty, and community members to understand what the wants and needs of the community are so they can put those concerns and issues in their final plan for improvement. At this time the timeline and scope of the project are fuzzy but are expected to crystallize in the next few months.
Also, during the meeting, the board discussed the purchase of new travel buses. According to Vice President Joseph Hartnett, it has been over 20 years since the last travel bus was purchased and they are currently run down. He spoke to the potential dangers that this causes when traveling with students up and down mountains across northern Arizona and the even greater distances and danger that poses with having out-of-date and less safe transportation.
The district’s business manager, Casey Hancock, chimed in and said that the current price for a new coach-style travel bus would be about $375,000. However, a new smaller bus with less storage and space, which may not last as long could be acquired new for closer to $225,000. The district weighed these two options to see which one would be best for the students but decided to ultimately wait on making a decision. Hancock explained to the board that financially they could afford travel buses if the board decides that is a priority; however, this is still a pretty sizable investment and those funds could be used effectively elsewhere if the board decides that.
Hancock also said that he thinks they should buy one travel bus now, see how they like it, see how it serves the district and then next year they can easily budget to buy another one. That way, if they make the $375,000 investment, they can see if they got their money’s worth.
Hartnett expressed his views that the district should opt for the more expensive bus because it has the potential to last the district a lot longer, which would save the district money in the long run.
The board members took tours of Holbrook’s new buses to get ideas about what kind of buses the WUSD may want to purchase for their students. Among these buses were the $225,000 cheaper models that, although they are new and of quality, offer less space, which, for traveling multiple days, doesn’t give students a lot of space for their luggage and equipment for their activities.
The board also recognized two employees of the month, both from the junior high school: Drew Luzier, a social studies teacher, and Stephanie Lymer, a secretary at Winslow Junior High, for their outstanding service to the students.
The board also approved 15 policy advisories from the Arizona School Board Association. All of these policies are administrative in nature, and the full list of these policies and their purposes can be found on the district’s website, or they can be found in The Tribune’s article from the last governing board meeting, which can be found at https://tribunenewsnow.com/wusd-reaches-goalfor high- school- soccerteams/.
The next meeting of the WUSD school board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the meeting room located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
