SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — The Central Valley School District (CVSD) is planning for the future and asking the community to share their priorities regarding school repairs and upgrades.
This comes as the school board considers asking voters to approve a capital levy.
Central Valley students Rebecca Smith and Hailey Jorges showed KREM 2 around their old stomping grounds, Bowdish Middle School.
"Constantly bugs in here, always bugs, or mice or anything," Jorges said, while standing in the school's older gym.
"There was a Crocs incident where students would throw Crocs at the ceiling and then ceiling tiles would collapse," Jorges said.
Built in the late 1950s, Bowdish was last renovated in the late 1990s. It's one of several outdated schools in Central Valley. The district wants to know what schools and projects should be prioritized, as board members consider putting a capital levy on the February ballot.
"We want to hear from our parents but we want to hear from our community, too, because they are the tax payers and they are what fund our schools and our area which benefits our future workforce," said Marla Nunberg, CVSD Director of Communications.
The levy could pay for safety upgrades and new HVAC systems, among other things.
"In the summer slash spring it's always warm in here and then in the winter, it's freezing," Jorges said.
Jorges and Smith think schools like Bowdish could also use a new roof.
"You'll see buckets all over the classroom trying to collect this water," Jorges said.
Older schools also have accessibility issues. It can be a challenge getting up the inclined hallways in a wheelchair.
"We have ADA requirements that are unable to be met because this building was built prior to those being in place," Nunberg said.
There's a lot to consider in the district's long range improvement plan. The Central Valley community is invited to take part in a survey to share their priorities. That survey can be found through the QR code below:
"Bowdish where we are right now is on my side of the district where I grew up as a kid," Parent Lindsay Miller said. "So, these are buildings my friends went to and it's probably time for us to make an investment in some of these structures."
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