"The district is in bad shape," said Johnnie Jordan, 3DI project manager, in an interview just before the meeting at Central High School began. "If it isn't addressed now, it's just going to get worse."
On the "poor" list were nine elementary schools, five middle schools, West Brook High School and two other campuses. Southerland School, a pre-kindergarten campus, was in the worst condition, followed by South Park Middle School.
Other middle schools listed in poor condition were Vincent, Marshall, Odom Academy and Austin. Elementary schools in poor condition were Amelia, Dunbar, Lucas, Sallie Curtis, Blanchette, Martin, Bingman, Regina Howell, Ogden and Field. Pathways Alternative School also was in poor condition.
Eleven campuses were rated as fair: the other two high schools (Ozen and Central), Smith Middle School, six elementary schools (Price, Caldwood, Fletcher, French, Fehl and Guess) and two other campuses (Brown Alternative and Taylor Career Center).
Only five campuses were rated as good. They were King Middle School, Oaks Special Education and three elementary schools: Pietzsch-MacArthur, Homer Drive and Dishman.
Ratings were based on the ratio between items in need of repair and the facility's replacement value. The list did not take into account portable buildings, which several committee members have said must be replaced with permanent structures. The study so far has not figured in student population growth projections or construction inflation either.
Jordan did not yet have figures for how much it would cost to correct building deficiencies. The company is working to develop those to present to district officials.
Members of the committee, which began working in November, urged the 100-plus people attending Thursday's meeting to join them in supporting improvements.
Randy Fluke, co-chairman of a subcommittee on elementary schools, said he was struck by problems at some of the Beaumont Independent School District campuses he toured Thursday.
"It's trite, but the phrase Band-Aids on top of Band-Aids on top of Band-Aids came to mind many times," Fluke said.
Fluke said he has heard the "urban legend" that the district should have paid more attention to maintenance, but routine maintenance would not have prevented some of the problems he saw with cracked foundations and antiquated heating and cooling systems.
"You can only do so much with an older building," Fluke said.
When the floor opened to the audience an hour and a half after the meeting started, some attending said they need to see specific information about a bond proposal to decide whether to support it.
Stephen Mayfield, PTA president at Field Elementary, said the community wants to see simplicity in the proposal and the timeline for completion of projects.
The committee, which was appointed by the school board, could make a recommendation to the board as early as next month. If the board decides by mid-March to put a proposal before voters, an election could take place in May.
bgallaspy@beaumontenterprise.com
(409) 880-0726
Updated 01/25/2007 11:07:40 PM CST