Teacher delegation seeks answer to building access
A delegation of Marion High School teachers met with the USD 408 board of education Monday, asking to explore options to make the Hill Building completely accessible to the disabled.
Board members said an elevator was the only option, and would be so expensive that the money would be better used to construct a new metal building.
Teachers Janet Killough, Mary Griffith, and Sean Spoonts attended the meeting in person, and letters were sent from teachers Lois Smith and Diana Costello.
All teach in the stone Hill Building, recognized on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest building in Kansas used continuously for education.
A ramp was installed in the late 1990s to make the ground floor classrooms and counselor's office accessible. Two stairwells lead to four classrooms on the second floor.
Teachers said when they have a student who is temporarily or permanently disabled, they must move to a ground-floor room or to the high school's brick building. This makes it difficult to have the right materials on hand, with class time spent setting up the room.
A ground-floor room in the Hill School, called the Blue Room due to its paint scheme, was designed as a meeting room and study hall. It is used now for regular classes that have disabled students who can't go upstairs.
One student who was temporarily disabled had to spend a class period in the library because she couldn't go up the stairs, and the Blue Room was in use by another class, Killough said.
"We're discriminating against kids," she said. "I don't know if the kids see it that way or their parents see it that way, but that's how I see it."
An elevator and lifts are located in the main high school building.
Board members said there were several factors that limit access to the upper floor:
— The building may not be able to support an elevator and shaft.
— Chairlifts are not options because the height is too great.
— Extensive structural changes to the building could result in it being removed from state and national historic registers.
— Removing a stairwell to provide an elevator could violate fire escape codes.
— Costs are estimated at $200,000 to $400,000.
Board member Doug Sharp said the district was providing partial access. The ramp had been a costly project, difficult for some to justify, but the board felt it was the most reasonable option, he said.
Marion Stadium is not completely accessible, he pointed out. A set of bleachers were installed that are accessible to the disabled but the main bleachers are not.
Rex Savage, board president, said the board was more likely to use the $400,000 toward a new, ground-level building instead of placing an elevator in an older structure.
"We are very much aware and very much concerned," he said.
Member Gene Bowers agreed that moving teachers from one room to the next based on student disability "is not a good plan for us in the long term."
In other reports:
Driver ed fees for 2002 were increased to $75 for those in the district and $150 for those outside the district.
Board members approved hosting a Communities That Care training session this spring. It would be co-sponsored with Communities In Schools in Marion County. The training focuses on ways to identify risk factors that make youth more likely to use drugs and alcohol, and how a community can reduce those risks.
Superintendent Gerald Henderson's contract was extended through 2004. Salary will be determined later this spring after the rest of the budget issues are resolved.
