STUDENTS CITE HAWKINS SCHOOL FAULTS

JACKSON -- There's one major problem with R.O. Hawkins Junior High School: It isn't big enough.

Members of the school's student council said that problem affects everything that occurs in the building, from locker size to ventilation in the classrooms.

Students gave their opinions of the junior high school while conducting tours for the public Monday night. Although they proclaimed school pride throughout the evening, they said they saw a lot of room for improvement.

"There are a lot of things that need to be done here, but they can't all be done at once," said Maria Oehl, a ninth-grader and tour guide. "I know most of it because I've been here for a year."

Students said they hope voters approve a $6 million bond issue Aug. 8 that would cover costs for an additional 18 classrooms, a gymnasium and all-purpose room, an expanded kitchen area, work in the parking lot and some new air conditioning and technology in the district. The issue would mean a debt-service-tax increase of 10 cents per $100 assessed valuation. It requires a four-sevenths majority, about 57 percent, for approval.

Voters also will consider a second proposal that seeks full elimination of the Proposition C waiver and an increase in the operating tax levy of 40 cents, which would take it to $3.15 per $100 assessed valuation. The additional funding would be used for operating expenses, including hiring additional faculty and staff. A simple majority is needed for passage.

"I'm hoping it will pass," eighth-grader Jordan Cox said of the bond issue. "Even now it's going to be crowded, but in two to three years the population's going to grow. The class sizes are going to grow even more."

Ninth-grader Liz Nussbaum said she isn't looking forward to school lunches this year. A third lunch period will be added when classes begin next month to accommodate some 800 students in a building designed for 600. The extra lunch period means students will have about 20 minutes to eat instead of the 25 minutes they've had in the past.

"Sometimes it takes almost that long just to get through the line," said Nussbaum.

Students also have problems navigating the narrow, locker-lined hallways with full book bags or backpacks. They are only allowed to open their lockers before or after school and during lunch, and several entrances to the building have been designated as one-way sites to cut back on congestion in the hallways.

Even so, there have been problems.

"When you're standing there with your backpacks and people are trying to get past, you just kind of have to shove people who are in your way so you don't get a tardy to get to class," Nussbaum said. "We're talking about big kids who also have big tempers. You kind of have to hold your own going from class to class."

While most classrooms are grouped by subject area, there are many exceptions to the rule that can be confusing for new students. For example, health classes are held in the same room as band, and history classes are scattered throughout the main floor and in a former "shop" classroom in the basement of the school.

And there are problems with climate control throughout the building.

"I usually take my coat to class with me because some rooms are freezing cold, some rooms are burning hot," Nussbaum said. "You just never know what to expect."

And then there is the "dungeon." That's the name students have given a classroom designated for students being punished as part of the in-school suspension program. Tucked in a small corner of the basement, the room has no windows and no ventilation, much like the other classroom along that corridor being used for learning disabilities programs.

While they won't experience any of the benefits, Nussbaum and Oehl said they hope voters support the bond issue because it would mean improvements to benefit students at the school.

"There would be more room for better learning experiences," said Oehl.

"I know that all the teachers and students from the junior high want it to pass," Nussbaum said. "I like our school. I just don't like some of the things we have to do to be here.".