RC Superintendent Tidbits
By: Mark Otten
It is looking like we are in for another snowstorm this week. As I mentioned last week, golf and track are coming
right up but unless we are planning to attend meets a lot farther south than we normally do, it does not look good
for us being able to compete any time soon. We all need to hope the weather service is wrong on this one and we
do not get the twelve inches or more they are predicting.
I want to get into more of the facilities needs that I touched on last week. This week, I will get more into the high
school building with projected costs to update parts of the building as needed. Some of the needed updates are
safety related, some are security related, and some are due to failing systems such as plumbing and electrical
systems. According to Wilkins Architecture, around $2,914,867 is needed to update our facilities to get them up to
code while also addressing safety issues, security issues, and system failures. This would not add anything to our
existing structure, it would simply address current needs of the structure.
The good news is that not all of the work is needing to be done immediately. Some things are more urgent than
others and it is now up to the Rock County School Board of Education, along with myself and other consultants, to
determine which projects need done right away and what can wait. Of course, student and staff safety will be the
highest priority which will drive immediate decisions and make some projects jump to the top of the list from the
start. For instance, there are safety concerns within the electrical system in the original portion of the high school
building. This will have to be addressed soon while some of the flooring issues throughout the building may be
able to be put on hold for a bit. There is a lot of information to consider and there will be meetings where the
school board is going to ask for public input on what gets done and how extensive some of the projects may be.
As this work is being considered, I believe it will be vital for our community to take a really good look at what the
future of Rock County Public Schools will be. We need to have an open discussion about the school district plans
and determine whether we are wanting our school to be open for twenty more years or are we wanting our school
to be open for fifty or more years. Those decisions will be driving forces behind the facilities work that is done
over the next five years.