Several projects have been completed recently, according to Creston Community School District Superintendent Steve McDermott.
McDermott reported to the CCSD Board of Directors during last week’s regular meeting that the high school girls locker room shower update and the elementary/middle school parking lot projects have been completed.
The EMS parking lot was one of three planned major construction projects for fiscal year 2019. The stadium turf project has already been completed and the Early Childhood Center playground project is still being worked on.
The new parking lot, which is north of the bus barn, more than doubled the previous gravel parking area and features wider parking spots, with a walkway toward the EMS.
“It was full during our third-grade music concert,” CCSD Elementary Principal Scott Driskell said. “It was so nice to have.”
The high school girls locker room shower update is a project that was added recently after several parents voiced concerns about a lack of privacy in the showers.
Previously, the shower heads were located on a tower in the middle of the shower facility. Now, shower heads are located along the outer walls of the shower facility, with partitions between the shower heads for added privacy.
“They’re as nice as they are in people’s homes,” McDermott said. “They’re gorgeous and probably how they should have been for many years before now. We even have hot water.”
McDermott reported to the board that work will begin on updating the showers in the boys locker rooms soon.
The third and final major construction project for FY19 – the ECC playground – has been slower developing than McDermott had planned.
He told the board during last week’s meeting that the playground equipment was scheduled to arrive last week.
“We got a nice price break by having that delivered by the first of January, so that’s good,” McDermott said. “We can tell everybody yes, that playground is really truly going to happen someday.”
Bailey Fry-Schnormeier, high school art instructor and parent of a child at the EMS building, voiced concern about the walkway from the EMS building to the high school building and asked if there was a plan to make that walk safer for students.
“There used to be a railing with some chains and a walkway and now there’s nothing. Those kids can not be seen from a vehicle,” Fry-Schnormeier said. “That’s very concerning as a parent and even as a teacher.”
McDermott said that concern is being taken into consideration with the additional fencing planned around the stadium.
The current plan would move the western fence of the stadium to the east the width of a parking spot, leaving parking all the way along the drive that runs from the high school to the EMS building. Then, the current fencing would be closed off in the corner, which would provide a safe area for students to walk.
“I do think that will create a safer walkway through there,” McDermott said. “Our real challenge now is to get kids to follow the walking trail. They cut across. As we’re upgrading the stadium out there, that’s something that’s on our list. It’s something we’ve talked about how we need a better solution through there.”
STOP School Violence Grant
McDermott also told the board that, in conjunction with the $500,000 STOP School Violence Grant the district was awarded, he is working together with Creston Police Chief Paul Ver Meer and Creston City Administrator Mike Taylor on potentially sharing a student resource officer (SRO) position.
“That would really make our safety and security plan complete,” McDermott said. “That presence would be wonderful. A lot of schools have had SROs for a long time, we haven’t.”
McDermott said he had a meeting with Iowa School Finance Information Services recently where they discussed different funding options for an SRO position.
One possible source would be using the district’s management fund as a risk management tool.
“It absolutely would be risk management,” McDermott said. “I then met at school board association ... with two attorneys that have worked with other districts with that funding stream. We think there’s some possibilities there.”