Jackson trying to sell bond issue through tours of high school

Had it been theater, the inch-long black beetle that scuttled across the floor as Jackson High School officials discussed the decrepit state of their facilities would have received a Tony Award for its on-cue performance.

But Thursday's public tour of the high school -- the first in a series of tours that are part of the district's campaign for a bond issue -- wasn't a staged performance, it was a glimpse at the reality 1,150 students and their teachers experience daily.

The mold peeking through peeling paint on basement classroom ceilings is real. The mops and buckets that flank the entry way of the art room aren't props; the floor there floods when it rains.

Beneath the high school gymnasium, principal Rick McClard paused during the tour and glanced around the bunker-like football locker room.

The room was built to hold around 30 players during the 1950s, but now there are 75 players and only seven showers. Those on the tour held their breath, not in expectation of what McClard was about to say, but to avoid the putrid smell choking the unventilated room.

"This is the show place for your school system," McClard said. "New families come here and ask about our athletic facilities, and this what I have to show them."

But maybe not for too much longer, if the public tour of the high school has the same impact on others that it had on Thursday's group of residents.

The tour was like stepping back in time for Darrell Aufdenberg, who was a student at Jackson 30 years ago.

'Very little has changed'

"Very little has changed," said Aufdenberg. "And I remember thinking it was crowded back then."

McClard agrees that very little has changed about the high school buildings themselves, some of which date back to the 1920s. What has changed is the population of students and types of programs offered.

"We're holding our students back because of facilities, and it's not fair," McClard said.

Wires drape from ceilings throughout hallways and classrooms because the electrical wiring is inadequate to handle the school's technological needs. Asbestos tiles lie beneath torn carpet in one building. Many parts of the facility are not handicap accessible.

Under the proposed additions and renovations to the high school, most of the individual buildings would be joined under one roof. There would be a new library, three-story classroom wing, music department, cafeteria, events center with gymnasium and agribusiness building.

Spring 2005 start date

If the district receives the needed four-sevenths majority approval in the November election, construction on the $27 million project may begin as early as spring 2006 and would continue for around three years.

"Everything we can do to improve here has already been done," said superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson. "There's not a plan B, this is it."

Anderson said show and tell is the best way for district patrons to understand the need for the bond issue. Tours will continue through November every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and noon, or they can be scheduled through the principal's office at 243-9513.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128