Roof Leaks at Bryant & Great Lakes Schools
By Doug Dalager
Pictured above is just one of the many areas in which gaps have formed on the roof at Great Lakes. These gaps allow water to get into the building. (ExploreSuperior©)
Bryant Elementary and Great Lakes Elementary have always been and will always be connected. Both buildings were built in 1995. Both schools share the same floor plans. Both schools have traditionally had similar student populations and a neighborhood school community. Most importantly both buildings have enjoyed great degrees of success with student achievement during their 20 year histories.
While nearly all the commonalities between the two buildings are to be celebrated, one of them is not. With both buildings being 20 years old, their roofs are past their expected lifetimes and are showing their age. There are many areas throughout both Bryant and Great Lakes where water from roof leaks is impacting the environment and causing other problems.
Great Lakes Principal, Ryan Haroldson explained, “We are really proud of the quality of our building in general, the leaks in the roof threaten some of this. We just had to pull the carpet this past summer in the guidance office and replace with tile due to the dampness. There are several other areas where leaks are impacting the environment too.”
Some of the ceiling damage present at Bryant Elementary School (ExploreSuperior©)
According to Bryant Principal, Kate Tesch, the roof at Bryant shares problems similar to those experienced at Great Lakes, “We have a number of classrooms and learning areas directly affected by the leaking roof. Our building looks brand new, as it is well taken care of by our staff. However, when it rains we have at least 6 classrooms that the water leaks directly into, in many cases right next to high-tech devices for learning.”
Concern about the roof conditions at Bryant and Great Lakes Elementary Schools has not fallen on deaf ears. These issues have been presented to the school board, and plans to address the leaky roofs at both Bryant and Great Lakes are addressed by the upcoming referendum for the Superior School District. Haroldson and Tesch hope that attending to the roof issue will allow both schools to continue serving students in an exemplary manner for years to come.
Other articles on Explore Superior related to the upcoming referendum may be found by following these links:
About the Referendum by Janna Stevens
School Referendum on Horizon
School Maintenance Issues Addressed
The School District of Superior also has a website that provides more information about the proposed referendum that can be found here: http://superiorreferendum.com/ with FAQ’s Here. Additionally, the website has a calculator HERE that allows you to enter the assessed value of your home and estimate what your potential tax liability might be should the referendum pass on April 5, 2016.
