Interim Superintendent Mark Pease shared on a new district podcast, Winslow Ready, that the cost of repairs at Winslow Middle School is $1.6 million, after the district had to replace 500 feet of pipe there. The pipe burst in September, causing extensive water damage.
The Winslow School District has a new podcast dubbed “Winslow Ready” that aims to keep not only the staff and students informed, but also parents and the community.
Interim Superintendent Mark Pease and assistant Sheresa Clement share important updates on the district. In January, they updated the community on Winslow Township Middle School, where students were moved to remote learning after a pipe burst in September, causing extensive water damage, according to reports.
Pease and Clement were happy to announce that students got back to a normal, regular school schedule after winter break.
The cost to repair the pipe will reach $1.6 million, Pease informed the community on the podcast. The district at first thought a repair on the pipe would be enough, but it had to replace the entire 500-feet length of the pipe, almost the distance of two football fields.
“Both gym floors needed to be replaced, so we now have two new gym floors with new logos,” Pease explained. “Library repairs included new floors, walls, paint and new furniture.
Throughout the middle-school building in classrooms, offices and hallways, floors and furniture were replaced. There were also unexpected mishaps due to extremely cold temperatures, including freezing of a heating coil and a heating fan whose failure caused smoke damage.
In the most recent podcast, Pease and Clements issued updates on projects across the district, which encompasses an early childhood education center, six elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Playgrounds at Winslow Township schools 1, 2, and 3 are expected to be replaced during spring break in April.
“Those playgrounds have been well loved by the community and by our students,” Clements noted.
The marquee at Winslow High is being upgraded and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) projects are slated for the middle school, high school and schools 4 and 5.
“That’s going to be a huge undertaking this summer,” Pease acknowledged. “We look forward to bringing those buildings up to code.”
Pease and Clements also shared the importance of climate control in district buildings.
“If we are not in an environment that won’t make us comfortable, if we’re hungry, if we’re cold, if we’re hot, we may not be ready to learn,” Clements observed. “The goal is to work to improve our environment as much as we can, to make sure our children have optimal learning facilities and to make sure we have things in place for students to excel academically.”
A lot goes behind the scenes, Clements added, and with the help of community partners – Pease, members of the board of education and everyone in the district – the school system can reach its ultimate goal of “student achievement.”
The district’s podcasts can be found on the school’s Facebook page, where Pease and Clements sign off each one with “Be well, be kind, and go Eagles.”
