Rotting floors prompt trailer repair

Several classes were relocated for parts of October and November after a teacher stepped through the floor in room 302, prompting district officials to discover rot and rebuild the entire floor.

The classroom is in one of two adjacent trailers located just outside the border of the parking lot on the west side of Boone’s building.

Any person who has parked in the west lot, gone to a baseball, soccer, or football game, had a class in a room in the 300s, or has used that west side entrance has more than likely come across those trailers which function as extra classrooms and are divided into four rooms with two rooms per trailer.

In the trailer parked closest to the school are where English teacher Renae Lovins’ room and the In School Suspension (ISS) room are located. Spanish teacher Carolyn Gaddis’ classroom and ELL teachers Christina Griffith and Everett Campbell’s dual room occupy the other trailer.

New to Boone County, Lovins said that her trailer room had been used for a robotics class prior to her arrival, and that it had a history of weak floors and previously patched holes.

In mid-October, the incident involving the trailer’s floor collapsing caused it to be quickly renovated and updated.

Lovins spoke about the process and issues relating to the room and trailer, saying that Campbell’s foot had gone through the floor one afternoon when he stepped into the doorway connecting the ISS and Lovins’ room.

The doorway was given a temporary fix while assistant principal Michael Neuhaus, who typically communicates maintenance work orders, contacted the district office.

The district office sent workers over to the school to access the damage, and they originally concluded that several holes would need to be patched.

Lovins and all her belongings were quickly moved out of the room so that the workers could begin their reconstruction.

According to Lovins, however, further investigation revealed that the beams in the floor had rotted, which resulted in its weakened state.

Both rooms were eventually stripped and refreshed, as well as given new tile and a paint job to “freshen (the trailer) up a bit.”

The entire process took around four weeks, but Lovins believes it was well worth the wait.

“Aesthetics of the environment definitely has an impact on mood and attitude,” said Lovins. “Overall, I think the renovations will contribute to not only a safer learning environment, but also one that promotes a more positive outlook and interactions in the classroom.”

Lovins also mentioned that many of her students commented on how it looked much brighter than the originally dark and gloomy trailers.

Senior Alyiah Beach agreed with Lovins. She said that the renovated trailer offer a much better environment for her learning.

Junior Katelyn Cordas said that her trailer experience freshman year was good, but that she wished the trailers would have been updated sooner. She believes that her class would have been “a little more positive” if the room had been renovated then.