The Board of Education approved replacing all small blue lockers with larger, new lockers for the next school year. The construction will begin on the first day of summer and about 150 lockers will be built per day.
The project was looked into after the administration saw a clear need for new lockers to fit the needs of students, such as for student athlete’s equipment or extra room for winter coats.
“These days, the lockers we have at our school cannot fully equip our students’ needs,” Ryan Rubenstein, assistant principal of student activities and facilities, said. “We hope that these new lockers will be able to accommodate students better.”
The slim blue lockers with the two compartments on top will be replaced by larger double lockers. The new lockers will be around the same size as the lockers in the science hallway.
Installing the new lockers is a good long term investment for District 95, according to Lyle Erstad, director of construction.
The total cost of the lockers includes the maintenance to install the lockers, the lockers themselves, and the padlocks for students.
“The project will cost around $145,000, but in the long run these types of lockers will create less maintenance and repair costs,” Erstad said. “It may seem like a big project, but the lockers that the District is looking at are very cost effective and will last for a long time.”
Some of the current vertical lockers with the two compartments on top are as old as 20 to 30 years old, which came with the original building when the high school was first built.
“We see students who can’t use their locker on a regular basis,” Erstad said. “That’s when we knew it was time for a change. Overall, the new lockers will be a good improvement to the high school environment.”
The lockers will have new facets that the current lockers do not have in order to provide efficiency for students. The new lockers will not have locks pre-installed, but will instead have padlocks which will be handed out to students on the first day of school for them to keep for the rest of their high school career, Rubenstein said.
“The maintenance staff spends countless hours every day just fixing jammed lockers,” Rubenstein said. “The new padlocks and lockers will be more efficient, and give us more time to repair other things instead of lockers every day.”
The construction of the new navy blue lockers will begin immediately prior to the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
“We have the project planned out strategically so the construction and installation process will not interfere with summer activities such as summer camps for sports or for summer school,” Rubenstein said. “Some summer school classes may be moved around to different classrooms, but that won’t interfere with the students learning experience.”
Some LZHS students are very excited for the change to new lockers.
Taylore Schaefges, junior, leaves her textbooks and other school supplies in her locker at all times, because her current locker does not work on a daily basis.
“Since the first day of school, my locker either jams or just does not open when I put in my combination. Anytime that I have used my locker I end up late to class because I have to go get help to get my books out,” Schaefges said. “This happens to all of my friends, and the new lockers will make everyone’s day a lot easier.”