Renovations Ongoing at Washington Lands Elementary School With Student Safety in Mind
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MOUNDSVILLE -- Renovations to the structure of Washington Lands Elementary School are designed to keep students safe in the worst of situations, up to and including a potential chemical leak or similar disaster at a yet-unbuilt chemical plant.
The school lies across the river from the site of the proposed Dilles Bottom ethane cracker plant, which factored into design decisions to upgrade and enhance security and safety measures at the school. Washington Lands saw its last major redesign in the 1970s.
Interior work continues through the rest of the summer, with just over one week left before students return for the fall semester.
Interior renovations include the addition of doors and new walls, which made lockdowns and sheltering in place impractical. The school's current design was implemented in 1976, according to principal Julie Sturgil, when "open-space" school designs were popular.
"This used to be all open — there was no way to stop anybody from getting into any pod," Sturgil said, walking the halls of the school, where new walls had been erected. "We got all new doors at the entryway of every classroom, so that's really exciting. That's something that we have asked for for years, and were never able to get it.
"In today's world, you never know when something's about to happen," she added. "It was always kind of comical when we'd practice a lockdown, and we had nothing to lock."
Numerous exterior windows for the school also were replaced or improved. At Tuesday evening's meeting of the Marshall County Board of Education, Facilities Director Mike Price said the exterior windows were treated with safety laminate material, providing both ballistic and blast resistance in a worst-case scenario. Price was joined by Eric Matyskiela and Dana Brooks, of M&G Architects & Engineers, who are the architects for the project.
"It's a laminated, security-type glazing that we're putting in, in the event of an industrial explosion, given the cracker plant. They also have security, from a bullet-resistant standpoint," Matyskiela said.
Price later added that the district was operating under the impression that the Dilles Bottom plant would become a reality, though a final decision on the future of the facility is still up in the air. This first phase of improvements is expected to reach completion in October.
"Maybe it sounds extreme, but I'm being told the cracker plant's happening," Price said. "We're progressing through this and we have no more time to wait for their answer. With the higher pressure gas lines I'm told are in our area, too, it's still a good thing to be prepared for this, and to have this fallout condition for future issues."
In addition, the front of the school was redesigned so visitors must now step into a new holding room, with security glass, to check in. Previously, an unsecured window was the only thing between visitors and the secretary's office.
The improvements to the front of the school will shake up the experience of returning for parents used to the old way, but Sturgil said she feels the
"We have so many families where the kids that are here now, their parents went here. I think a lot of them are going to go, 'Oh! It changed!' and they had nostalgia for it. But when you lay it out for people, it's 2021, and stuff goes down all the time. It's based on needs, not nostalgia," Sturgil said. "We're going to be much more secure, which I am very pleased with."
Phase Two of improvements at Washington Lands, to take place over the coming years, will include a large addition to the school grounds, which includes a 10,600 square foot activity center. This area will repurpose the old gymnasium into a lunchroom and performing arts area.
From a safety perspective, Matyskiela said the activity center will have a separate HVAC system, which will have the ability to close it off from the rest of the building, adding capabilities for sheltering in place.
"It's becoming somewhat more commonplace, but this is driven more by the potential with the cracker plant," he said.
"Because of the industrial value of what's going on, and we're still working on high-pressure gas lines, and we have the cracker plant across the river, and the plants downstream of us, too," Price added. "If you have a leak of some sort, and we have that cloud coming toward us, we can huddle all the kids into that facility, do a total shutdown to outside air, and it'll be a secured place."
That procedure could also be used to shelter in the event of a chemical spill on W.Va. 2.
The improvements in the first phase of renovations are being carried out by Lombardi Development Co. Lombardi was the low bidder in March. The bid of $924,300, Price said at the time, was significantly under projected estimates.
Phase two is still in the design phase and has not yet gone out to bid.