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School staff tell visiting senators aging building, failing heat and leaks disrupt instruction and services
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Summary
Teachers and staff told visiting state senators that failing heating, leaks and cramped spaces have forced classrooms to relocate, disrupted interventions and limited extracurricular offerings, and that a bond effort is under discussion to address infrastructure shortcomings.
Visiting state senators heard Tuesday that an aging school building has repeatedly interrupted instruction and student services, with staff citing broken heating and plumbing, cramped and unsuitable spaces for specialized learners, and disruptive repairs that make steady intervention work difficult. "Last year, the heat went out in [our classroom] ... we moved them for eight weeks," a school staff member identified in the meeting as Henry said, describing a special-education classroom displaced by a heating/water failure.
The recurring failures extend beyond one room, Henry said: ceiling tiles fall from roof leaks, locker rooms are in poor condition and temperature control is inconsistent — "you walk into one classroom this morning and it's 85 degrees, not a great learning environment ... you go into the next classroom and it's 60 degrees." He also described spotty Wi‑Fi and limited wiring that constrain technology use across the building. The staff member said those conditions complicate daily routines and can be especially harmful for vulnerable students who struggle with changes in environment.
Teachers and specialists described concrete instructional consequences. Steve Estancia, the district MTSS coordinator, offered test-score materials and said the school has a strong literacy push and many interventionists. But Estancia said the lack of dedicated collaborative spaces — "pods" — forces interventionists to pull students far down halls rather than work in proximity to grade teams, and that repair work (jackhammering, moving classes) disrupts learning and services.
Several teachers argued that improved facilities would multiply the benefits of existing programs. Erin Harrigan, a middle-school English and journalism teacher, described staff efforts to create a middle-school wing and run a student newspaper despite plumbing floods, a failing PA system and unreliable locks. She said team meeting spaces that allow grade-level collaboration would strengthen cross-curricular projects and community connections.
School staff also tied facility problems to equity. Sarah Allen, chair of modern and classical languages, noted that programs such as study-abroad opportunities, AP classes and arts are available, but sustaining and expanding them in a facility with inconsistent climate control and limited collaborative space is harder — and requires outreach and grants to ensure underprivileged students can participate.
Administrators and teachers said they are pursuing a bond to address infrastructure needs but did not provide bond text, dollar amounts or a timeline during the meeting. Moderators framed the visit as part of an effort to show senators how building condition constrains education and to inform lawmakers before any funding decisions. The visit paused for lunch and a planned building tour; senators were to rejoin teachers in the auditorium at 2:30 p.m.
No formal votes or motions took place during the session; staff provided examples, data and requests for support and said a bond was being considered as one pathway to address building deficiencies.
