By: Dr. Darron Arlt - PHS Superintendent
Every conversation I have with prospective new staff members as they enter the main south doors and stand with me in the lobby outside my office generally includes a bit of a building history lesson.
We’re not uncommon, especially in the rural setting, to be comprised of several eras of construction that complete the totality of our school buildings. Our ancestors did a fine job of piecing us together into what we have today.
The issue can eventually become however, a hodgepodge of sections that are inefficient to navigate and substandard in performance. Here’s a little look back on the ages/history of our current Plainview Public Schools campus facilities.
The granddaddy of them all of course is our 1920 building. Still looking pretty much the same as she did over 100 years ago which definitely appeals to our nostalgic nature but severely substandard in modern amenities as well as safety, accessibility, and efficiency and mechanical system codes.
The “Tartan” gym connected the 1908 and 1920 buildings in 1949. Students then could navigate from building to building through a narrow stairwell and hallway that today provides some storage for archived personal and financial records and custodial supplies.
In 1956, the existing band/vocal music room and shop classroom were added to the North end of the 1920 building. These spaces are essentially the same nearly 70 years later with the band room inaccessible from the indoors by any student who can’t navigate steps. We have had to send them outside and around to the West door. The Shop also does not meet accessibility codes.
In 1964, the current Elementary building was completed and 30 years later in 1993, the North wing finally included a dedicated library and music space. Also added with the 1993 addition were spaces for new services such as speech & Title and special needs kids finally came into the main building from the trailer. A new set of bathrooms and a computer lab capped off these identified needs some 35 years ago.
Just a year later in 1965, Brunswick High School closed and those students were welcomed to PHS. Brunswick retained their elementary building until 2002.
In 1970, the main South entrance was added to create a lobby area for the tartan gym as well as a new superintendent office, bathrooms, and an expanded passage between the 1920 and 1908 buildings.
A few years into the 1970’s, conversation heated up about replacing the 1908 building. From what I understand, building straight to the north and connecting to the Elementary school, requiring closing Woodland Ave. permanently, was considered.
Obviously most of the construction of the 1977 school occupied the footprint of the 1908 building and then North along the west side of the square block, where I understand the old Ag. Shop sat. The Pirate gym would come to occupy the large grassy expanse off the North side of the Tartan Gym. The current Ag. Shop was completed this same year.
We’re closing in on 50 years of occupancy of the “new” school and Ag. shop. Our people have taken great care of our facilities and oftentimes, when I tell people the Pirate Gym, North entrance Lobby and academic hallway are 50 years old, they are shocked to learn they really aren’t “new” any longer.
We’ve invested quite a bit in the last decade that make our learning spaces look, feel, and operate more efficiently. I will outline those investments in a later discussion.
Meanwhile, I will try to over communicate and inform you, our stakeholders, on what we should consider for the next 50 years. Please watch for a public meeting, likely in early April, where we will share out the results of our facility and energy audit in the Pirate gym with all details projected on our Scorevision screens. This will be an open meeting of the full school board so a proper notice will be advertised.