Seabeck school has seen better days

Next to the seemingly gleaming brick of the gymnasium, Seabeck Elementary looks worn and weathered.

In this case looks aren’t deceiving.

While the gym was built in 1990, the main school building opened in 1958 with additions in 1969 and 1977.

Constant repairs to the aging building have weakened the staff’s focus on education said Chris Visserman, Seabeck’s principal.

“Ideally we spend most of the time on educational issues,” he said last week. But tackling the building’s flaws — leaky roof, inability to support technology and air quality problems — have eaten in to some of that time and directly affected their ability to provide the best to the students he said.

Along with ticking off a laundry list of repairs and problems with the building, Visserman is quick to say the district’s maintenance staff has done an outstanding job responding to the demands of a 45-year-old building.

If voters approve a $60 million bond this September, Seabeck Elementary will be replaced. District officials are considering their options at where the replacement school would go. It could be built at or near its current location on Seabeck Highway or at a undetermined spot in the Seabeck community, according to Richard Best, the district’s director for construction, facilities and maintenance.

He led a recent tour of the school that serves 365 students in grades K-6.

The school’s wood facade is deteriorating, but the lower portion of the walls were replaced last year. Modern buildings such as the gym have a masonry exterior, Best points out. The roof, which like CK Junior High’s, is flat and plagued with leaks during the rainy season. A new roof would be needed in 3-5 years.

The school tour stops at classroom 11, which was part of the 1977 addition. These classrooms have doors that open to the outside, which create a safety concern officials said. If the school had to go to lock down, securing all the school’s outer doors presents a problem, Best points out. The room is ventilated with a two vent system, newer classrooms have four vents to cool and heat the room evenly. The windows are single paned and there is no fire suppression system within the school.

In a classroom original to the school, the heating and cooling come through a unit near the window, similar to the set up at CK Junior High, which was built in 1959.

If the bond is successful in getting a 60 percent or more “yes” votes, the district hopes to save about $7 million due to low interest rates. Proponents of the bond issue say the savings in interest would essentially make the Seabeck project free. About $6.5 million of the $9.3 million price tag would come from local funds. The rest would come from state matching funds.

Property owners within the district would see an increase of 68 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation or about $8.50 a month on a $150,000 home.

The current administration portion of the building is cramped with administrative offices and a nurse’s station. It has little visibility to the parking lot and school entrance.

In addition the site:

l Lacks parking and proper configuration for bus and car traffic

l Needs storm water drainage improvements

l Asphalt replacement

l Has deteriorating roof, gutters, downspouts, plywood siding

l Needs upgrades to the plumbing, heating and ventilation systems

l Has insufficient insulation

l Needs seismic improvements to meet building codes

l Needs to be brought up to state and federal building codes and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act

Currently Seabeck Elementary has 15 classrooms, library, administrative area, multipurpose room with a kitchen and stage, and gym. The replacement school would bring students in from four portable classrooms. Those portables would be sold or disposed of, Best said.

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