Wheeling Middle School Upgrades Taking Shape
Trending
It was among the coldest Christmas Eves ever back in December when sub-zero temperatures caused a sprinkler to burst near the gymnasium at Wheeling Middle School, resulting in major water damage to the gym floor.
Replacing the gym floor hadn't been among the planned renovations at WMS, as Ohio County Schools continues its plan to upgrade all school facilities in the county.
But this week - as many students were in nearby classrooms participating in standardized testing - the smell of the newly placed floor's lacquer finish still lingered in the air.
"It feels great to walk on, it smells great and it looks great," said eighth grade student Andrew Timko.
Principal Rich McCardle remembers he and other school district officials coming into the school to address the burst pipe on Christmas Eve.
"We were here for four hours trying to figure out how to turn it off," he said. "The water got into the gym, and water and gym floors aren't a good mix."
Insurance money paid for the gym floor, but a $42.2 million bond issue passed by voters in 2018 helped with the cost of other improvements happening at Wheeling Middle School.
When the school was constructed in 1977, it had no air conditioning, McCardle said. Cooling wasn't added until the 1990s. The school now has a new heating, air conditioning and ventilation system, and it will soon have all new windows, he continued.
There are individual heating units in each room, permitting teachers the ability to better control the climate in warmer and colder rooms, he explained.
The former media center is being converted into a maker space where students will work on projects. In addition, nine classrooms have new carpeting or flooring, and science areas are being redone.
"We're putting in new labs, new countertops, flooring and ceilings this summer," McCardle said. "We'll also be doing the main office this summer."
The school sits in a flood plain, with all of the facility raised above ground level, he explained. A new elevator is being installed at the front of the building that is connected to the gym area to assist those attending afterschool events.
Plans call for the work to be completed by the time school starts in August, but McCardle isn't certain current supply chain issues will enable that to happen.
"It's all about supply and demand," he said. "It's a long process."