The Eugene Field blues: For 45 years the school has had safety issues, and the repair price – and problems – are growing

By Kristine Thomas

The frustration is evident in her voice.

Eugene Field Principal Jennifer Hannan estimates she spends 40 percent of her time as the principal of Eugene Field School dealing with the problems of the 93-year-old building – everything from a fuse blowing when she is vacuuming the hallway to coordinating how state and federal mandated tests will be taken to ensure internet connection won’t be lost during the testing.

“This building is at the end of its useful life,” Hannan said. “Every major system in this building is out of compliance – the heating, water, electric, structural. It will not meet code. How long are we going to put our kids at risk by having them in this building?”

Hannan’s concerns are supported by a study by Skanska USA Building. The district asked Skanska to conduct a preliminary review for the future use of Eugene Field and to address a series of questions: How much would it cost for seismic upgrades? To add a fire sprinkler system? To address the building’s dry rot? To construct a new elementary school?

The resulting report noted challenging existing conditions: exterior walls are unreinforced hollow clay tiles and framing members for the interior walls, floors and roof structure are untreated wood. Other potential issues noticed included: questions of indoor air quality; 1929 wiring still in use; evidence of water infiltration and dry rot; roof and foundation drainage that do not appear to be functioning properly; evidence of moss and water on the roof and potential asbestos in flooring, plaster and pipe insulation.

The report estimated the total renovation cost for Eugene Field School, which serves kindergarten through third grade students, at $8.5 million.
The construction of a new, 43,000 square foot, K-3 school was estimated at $8 million, depending on site selection. The average K-5 elementary school is about 55,000 square feet and costs an estimated $9.6 million to $10.2 million.

“While the building met codes in the 1920s, there is likely not a single structural element, in our opinion, that meets current structural or fire codes,” the report states.

Hannan understands Eugene Field’s long history and role as part of Silverton’s charm. However, she said, the building isn’t suited to meet the needs of 21st century education. There is mold and dry rot from years of water damage, she said.

The bond is needed, Hannan said, because there hasn’t been money in the district’s budget to put into school repair and replacement.

“Our priority has been putting money in the classroom,” she said. “This building was not built to last 100 years. I feel like we are racing the clock. The building is at the end of its useful life and there are significant problems.”

Silver Falls School District Superintendent Andy Bellando said the district agrees, Eugene Field is close to the end of its functional life.

“The public has been well-served by the building for a long time but it is time for the building to be vacated,” he said, noting it would cost more to remodel or repair the building than it would to build a new school.

Last spring, Our Town published two stories about concerns staff and parents had about Eugene Field School, including air quality and the number of staff members who were ill.

One teacher who has taught at Eugene Field since 2007, said both teachers and students deserve a safe and healthy place to work and learn.

“I don’t think to say that teachers are putting their lives and health and well-being at risk is an exaggeration,” she said.

When asked about the results of the study by Skanska and the concerns about Eugene Field health issues, Bellando said, “We believe the building is still safe to educate students. I wouldn’t put kids in there if it wasn’t safe. However, we do need to get out of there as soon as we can.”

Both Bellando and Hannan noted there is a formula to determine the population a school should be able to serve based on the number of acres the site contains. Eugene Field sits on almost four acres, an area the formula indicates is right for 150 to 200 students. There are about 500 students at Eugene Field School, Hannan said.

“We don’t have a parking lot,” Hannan said. “Just the logistics of having people drop off and pick up their kids is a nightmare.”

The paved playground has staff spending recess time tending to scraped knees or elbows, she said. The lack of water pressure and outdated sinks means students can only wash their hands before or after lunch. There are no sinks in the classrooms.

“We have one gym where we have to feed 500 kids lunch plus use for PE classes,” Hannan said. “An air quality study showed there are too many insect parts in our air and we can’t have food in the classroom.”

Bellando said minutes from district school board meetings as early as 1968 show closing Eugene Field was a topic of discussion. Bonds to build a new elementary school failed in 1984, 1993, 1998 and 2002, Bellando said, adding the bonds in 1998 and 2002 included the high school.

“In my mind, Eugene Field is one of three very important elements to the facility needs of the district at this time,” Bellando said.

If approved the bond would also pay for technology upgrades at all schools, Bellando said.

“Educating a child today requires more than a four-walled classroom,” Bellando said. “In 2013, not only do you need a well-trained staff but you also need access to technology.”

Hannan said that there is thousands of dollars worth of technology at Eugene Field that is not being used because the building cannot support it due to structural and electrical issues.

“We can’t teach how we are supposed to teach because we don’t have classrooms that meet the requirements of the 21st century,” Hannan said.

“Unless you are trying to use this building as an educational tool on a day-to-day basis, you don’t understand how it doesn’t work.”