MARION – Tutoring rooms are stuffed into basement closets, the laminating machine is stashed in a boys’ bathroom and Principal Justin Barnes’ office has a sink, because at one time it was a janitor’s closet.
“We’re busting at the seams,” Barnes said.
Strewn across three buildings, one of which is more than a century old and another a temporary modular, according to Barnes, Marion Elementary School is in desperate need of building improvements. And he is hoping local voters approve a $500,000 bond next month for the K-8 school of 110 students.
The bond, which will be decided by mail-in ballot, is far less than the $2.2 million bond that failed last year by 25 votes. Barnes said it failed last time because people don’t know the extent of the school’s needs.
“I think some people think we’re a small rural school and we don’t need the bond,” he said. “Well that ain’t right.”
Even if this bond passes, Barnes said it would just be a “band-aid” for the school. Currently two classrooms are housed in a modular trailer with no restrooms, meaning students must go to another building to use one; counselors and special education tutors are located in the basement of a 110-year-old school house with no sprinklers; there are no restrooms that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the music and physical education programs must share a gymnasium-turned-cafeteria. On top of that, paper and supplies must be stored anywhere and everywhere, including in a boys bathroom, hallways and a room that houses the water furnace and electrical boxes.
“It’s not a place you want for tons of paper, but there’s no other place for it,” Barnes said, pointing to boxes of printer paper stored near the water heater in a dark basement.
Teachers say that while the buildings may have been adequate when first built – the original school is more than a century old, a newer addition was built in 1978 and the modular was added on in 1999 – they just aren’t conducive to teaching anymore.
“In the age of technology, when you’re running a bunch of computers and such, access to electricity can be a problem,” said Wendy Davis, who has taught history and art for more than a decade at the school. “I don’t think it impedes the learning but it limits how creative you can be. Stuff needs to be planned out (in advance) and you can’t be so spontaneous.”
Next door in Deborah Johnson’s room, where she teaches English, many of the same problems emerge, but her largest isn’t technology. Johnson said because of where her classroom is located, staff and students often have to go through her room to access other parts of the building, including Davis’ classroom.
Barnes said a simple majority is needed for the school to gain the $500,000 bond and with it a new addition to the school would be constructed, replacing the modular classroom, which would be moved to the other side of the school to house the music program and provide additional storage. The addition would push counselors and special education teachers out of the dark basement and enable the school to also use that area for storage.
Ballots are being sent to registered voters on Nov. 10 and due back on Dec. 1. Residents must be registered by Nov. 1 in order to vote.
Barnes said the school has been much more active this time around in trying to educate the community about its needs. He said that effort will only increase in the next few weeks.