Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Issues with the building's fire alarms has forced the closure of Sleight School, seen here Monday.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood - While the Ironwood Area Schools hadn't planned on using the George N. Sleight School after this year, district officials didn't think they'd need a plan for life after Sleight so soon. However, the recent discovery of electrical issues has forced the district to move its timeline for closing the building forward, Superintendent Travis Powell said.
"This was an unexpected change - the closing of Sleight this suddenly - we thought we would have the rest of the year to be thoughtful and (plan) and come up with a great transition. And instead we have to be a bit more expeditious," Powell said.
An issue with Sleight's built-in fire alarm system malfunctioning was discovered during the district's first monthly fire drill Sept. 24, Powell said. Electricians were brought in to repair the system, Powell said, and the district learned Thursday the system couldn't be fixed without basically installing a completely new system - an investment in a soon-to-close building that wasn't fully utilized that didn't make financial sense for the district.
A special board meeting was called Thursday to determine how to ensure student safety, according to Powell, with the board and administration ultimately canceling classes Friday to allow the district and the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District time to create a plan to move forward.
Ironwood's Great Start Readiness program - designed to prepare students for kindergarten - will resume classes Thursday as the program doesn't operate on Wednesdays. The GSRP was one of two programs the district operates out of Sleight, according to Powell, with its alternative education program also being housed there. Two GOISD special education programs also operated0 at the school.
The two GOISD programs and Ironwood's alternative education program resumed classes Monday, Powell said, in other locations while their more permanent homes are being prepared.
The alternative education program will meet at the Ironwood Memorial Building for approximately six weeks while space at Luther L. Wright K-12 School is being prepared.
The two GOISD programs have leased space at the Lighthouse Family Church on Ayer Street by Ironwood's baseball field, Powell said, while space in the Bessemer school district is being readied. Powell said the GOISD has obtained a one-month lease to use the church, but the intermediate district's departure from the church would depend on when construction is complete in Bessemer.
The two Sleight-based GOISD programs will be joined in Bessemer by one GOISD program currently located at L.L. Wright that is moving to free up space for the alternative education program.
"Eventually, all of the Ironwood programs will be brought to L.L. Wright. And the (GOISD) programs are actually going to relocate into Bessemer schools," Powell said.
The GOISD prefers to rent space from its members, Powell explained, and Bessemer has the space to fairly easily host the programs.
As for the GSRP program, Powell said the plan is to return to Sleight for the next several weeks while part of Luther L. Wright undergoes remodeling to make the classrooms suitable for four-year-olds.
To stay in compliance with the regulations governing the GSRP program and ensure the safety of the students, Powell said the district will install more smoke alarms in Sleight and acquire mechanical warning systems while the students use the building.
"The teachers have elected to wear whistles, like referee whistles on their person." Powell said. "That way, in the event a fire is detected, they can readily signal to everyone else in the building, 'We've got to leave.'"
The program has strict licensing requirements, Powell explained, which is why it can't be relocated to another building for the time being as easily as the other programs at Sleight.
Powell stressed the program remaining at Sleight is part of the state approved safety plan designed to ensure their safety until the program eventually is able to move to Luther L. Wright.
Once the program is relocated to Luther L. Wright, Powell said the plan is to locate it on the first floor, in the front hallway facing Ayer Street.
The renovations at Luther L. Wright - both for the GSRP class and the alternative education program - and in Bessemer are intended to optimize the new spaces for the respective programs.
"They each have unique needs, and therefore we need to place them in the building in the best manner to meet those needs," Powell said. "That (alternative school) program will be in a wing that is slightly apart from the rest of the population of the school, which will meet their needs for that alternative (setting)."
As one of the district's former home economics classroom, the space to be occupied by the alternative school has some kitchen equipment Powell said the teachers are excited to incorporate into their classes.
Powell hopes all necessary construction to prepare the respective spaces can be finished in the coming weeks and all the moving is wrapped up in the next month or two, but said the district was committed to safely educating the children in the mean time.
Powell complimented the city of Ironwood for its assistance in helping the district deal with the unanticipated need to find new locations for students.
"This was unexpected," Powell said. "What I appreciated was, when we were exploring places to rent temporarily, I was especially appreciative of Scott Erickson and Karen Gullan at the Memorial Building. They were 100 percent supportive - no barriers, no questions, no concerns - just 'how can we make this work?'"
He also thanked the city's community development staff for beginning to work with the district regarding the future of Sleight.
While it hasn't been determined what will happen to the building, Powell said the district wants to make sure its future use is as palatable as possible to the community.
The building, built in 1930, ceased to function as an elementary school at the end of the 2014 school year after the Ironwood school district decided to make Luther L. Wright a K-12 building. The district had planned to discontinue any use for the building at the end of the current school year, Powell said, due to the costs of upcoming maintenance needed to continue operating the building. Basic utilities will be maintained to preserve the building until its future is determined.
While the building's future remains uncertain, Powell said the district would prefer selling the property.
"We're a school. We're in the business of educating children and we're not in the business of being landlords," he said. "It's just a lot easier if we can have someone else take possession of that space."
