Lawrence Middle School faces challenges amid ongoing campus renovations

Lawrence Middle School at the Broadway Campus, which also houses the elementary school, has been undergoing a complete re-haul for over six years. 

Current concerns from teachers and staff are the rise in eye infections and respiratory infections coming from the lack of proper cleaning in the school.

There are also complaints of air conditioning not working properly in the rooms where it exists, and how majority of the rooms still don’t have air conditioning.

Construction is performed overnight, and the dust particles and residue lingers in the air, teachers say.

“They’re not cleaning the halls after they’re done for the night, so there’s dust and debris building up in the hallways in the mornings,” said Rachel Kreiss, the Lawrence Teachers Association president. “Sometimes in the morning you can smell the work that had been done.”

Not everyone is impacted the same, but those with asthma and allergies have been feeling the brunt of it.

Construction first started in 2018 with the $1.3 million capital improvement project of the auditorium.

According to osha.gov, school indoor air quality is particularly important as it may affect the health, performance and comfort of school staff and students.

This was not the first time Kreiss has spoken up about the cleanliness of the school to the school board.

This stems from the lack of full time custodial staff working in the building.

“We don’t have the staff like they used to have, the buildings in general are not as clean as they should be,” Kreiss said.

Kreiss can visibly see large dust piles built up in hallways in front of teacher’s classrooms and stairwells.

The flooring outside her classroom was taken up in September, and still hasn’t been replaced.

“We’ve gone all year with no flooring down in a hallway, what was the point of that?” Kreiss said. “Why isn’t anyone making sure it’s clean?”

Board of Education Trustee, Michael Hatten has volunteered to take on this matter by himself.

“Safety is very important, it’s high on my list as an educator, I think of the safety of my students first and foremost,” Hatten said. 

He was the only board member at the recent school board meeting to take interest in this situation.

“When somebody says to me as trustee, that there is an unsafe environment for our children as they’re being educated and for our faculty and staff, I think it’s worth a visit,” Hatten said.

Hatten has not been on the campus recently and has not visited to see the current conditions as of yet.

Pending a visit, he will address the situation and listen and observe. At this point, he will be working by himself on this but welcomes the involvement of other board members.

“Personally, I like to be the focal point of all the questions and things going on,” Hatten said. “I didn’t see the enthusiasm of anyone else on the board at the meeting.”