School board gives $50K to WCMS
After two years of requests from the school’s PTO, the Warren County School Board voted Thursday night to provide $50,000 toward improving Warren County Middle School’s auditorium.
The money will be used primarily to replace auditorium seats, many of which have become inoperable since they were originally installed in 1957. At that time there were 868 working chairs, only 768 of which are still in working condition, meaning close to 100 of the school’s students are forced to sit on the floor during school assemblies.
The school’s PTO most recently petitioned the school board for assistance during its December meeting, at which time they also pledged $10,000 of their own funds as an incentive.
In reporting to the school board’s Building and Grounds Committee Thursday night, PTO president Don McBee told committee members his organization had been unable to determine a concrete figure on how much it would cost to retrofit the auditorium’s seats, but noted it might be higher than the originally expected cost of the chairs, which retail between $75 and $100 apiece, and their installation.
Engineer Tom Higgins, on hand for another matter before the committee, said the retrofitting of the seats would also most likely require removal of the auditorium’s asbestos tile floor which, by law, must be done professionally. This, he said, could add an additional $10,000 to $15,000 to the final cost.
He also noted that a project of that size could have other unforeseen financial consequences, particularly the cost of meeting fire and safety codes, which have changed considerably since the auditorium was built in the 1950s.
Committee chairman Larry Judkins expressed disappointment the board could not provide more than $50,000 to the auditorium improvement project.
“I wish we could do more. We realize how much the PTO does and we appreciate every bit of it, but this is all we can do right now,” he said.
McBee told committee members the PTO would continue to research costs and would report back when they obtained specific numbers. He also mentioned the possibility of setting up a related organization to solicit donations for the project from the public, including the many community members who attended school there in the past.