Teacher urges board to prioritize stability as district outlines extensive repairs at Groff Elementary

A Moses Lake School District teacher told the board on Sept. 4 that current third graders who began at Groff Elementary have experienced repeated classroom moves across multiple years and urged the board to prioritize continuity for the students.

"My concern is that in our effort to manage numbers and logistics, we may be overlooking the very real human impact these decisions have on our youngest learners," Regina Doremus said during the public‑comment period. Doremus described the students’ kindergarten classes expanding from three to four sections; subsequent midyear reshuffling; a temporary closure of Groff that moved students to Lakeview; and this fall’s redistribution that collapsed one third‑grade class and moved 19 students into five other classrooms.

Superintendent Carol Lewis provided a progress update on Groff (also referenced by staff and the facilities committee). She said district and contractor teams have completed assessments and that active repair work is ramping up, but that progress has felt slow to outside observers because of necessary evaluation steps. "It seemed a little it looked a little slow to outside observers at first because there was a lot of assessment that had to be done," Lewis said.

Lewis also listed the major repairs that have to be completed at Groff and said the list goes beyond electrical issues: "So roofing panels, the brick veneer on the outside of the building, the whole gym structure needs to be fixed. There's a lot of drainage that needs to get fixed... The HVAC system, freezers and refrigeration, the gym floor needs to be redone. There's exterior sidewalks that need to be redone and then of course the electrical system." She added the district is mindful of an active lawsuit with the construction company and must be cautious in public disclosures.

The superintendent said district staff are planning events to regroup the Groff student body during the year, and that early student assessment shows no widespread learning loss across the district despite last year’s challenges. Lewis said specific dates for full‑school gatherings are being planned by the Groff principal and PTA.

Why it matters: The teacher’s comments illustrated the classroom‑level consequences of building closures and reassignments. The superintendent’s repair list indicates Groff requires substantial structural work that affects the timeline for returning students to the campus.

Board members asked staff to track the impacts on students and to follow up on Doremus’s request for formal impact assessment. No board vote was held on Groff at the Sept. 4 meeting; staff said work will continue and more detailed student‑data and repair timelines will be provided at future meetings.