The following is a copy of a letter to Superintendent Winfred Roberson and members of the Davis Board of Education:

Two years ago, a group of concemed parents got together to promote long-overdue capital improvements at Emerson ]unior High School. We met with several of the trustees, district staff and then-Superintendent James Hammond and offered our combined engineering and architectural experience to the district to help prioritize necessary improvements for Emerson. Please refer to our letters of June 8, 2009, and Feb. 12, 2010.

We understood that at the Feb. 18, 2010, meeting, the school board ranked Emerson up at the top for future improvements in adopting a Long Range Facilities Master Plan for district-wide improvements.

As the district strategizes for the immediate needs of the multipurpose room at Davis High School, we believe it is important to remember the commitnent made to Emerson, as prioritized in the Master Plan. We remind the superintendent and the board that Emerson is 33 years old and has never received a major renovation as have many of the other older schools, including Holmes Junior High.

We urge the board not to embark on a complete replacement of the multipurpose room at the high school when the facilities budget is so tight. We support the proposed $800,000 basic fix of providing a new roof and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

In addition to repairing the high school MPR, we believe the board should authorize expenditure of funds to prepare plans and specifications for several smaller Emerson projects that could be made shelf-ready for the time when construction funding
becomes available. These projects include these previously identified by Hammond: new science classrooms, expanded art and woodshop rooms and outdoor commons areas.

We note that renovation funding has a 60/40 state/local split, so that expenditures on the foregoing Emerson projects would be an effective use of the district’s funds.

Parents for Emerson Facility Improvements: Hans Strandgaard; professional engineer; Eric Davis, municipal attorney; Bob Clarke, professional engineer and city engineer; and Bill Heinicke, school facilities planner

Davis

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