Fashionable over functional

There are two main types of renovations: those that fix things and those that look nice. LZHS needs to start focusing on the former.

There are many existent areas that would benefit from having work done, such as walls upstairs that are so thin classes can hear the lesson next door. Perhaps the computer classrooms could receive an update on their technology, for furthering instruction. Instead, the school goes for extravagant and often new projects, including the massive bleachers or Studio C.

A new stadium made headlines last year with massive bleachers, the first of several big projects for the school. The bleachers cost a bit less than $2.5 million, according to the Chicago Tribune, and while new bleachers are nice, they should not have been so grand as to take precedence over other projects. The bleachers can seat the entire student body.

Most prioritized renovations seem to focus on things people will see or hear about first. Consider what will gain more mainstream press coverage: a new, pretty collaboration space – which is definitely nice but not a necessity – or replacing the upper wings so each classroom can focus on their own lessons.

“With any project, we look at the immediacy of the need, and in my opinion, there could be lots of other things,” Kent Nightlinger, principal, said. “Projects could be based on safety issues as well. Some of it would depend on the program. Say we’re looking at specific courses, [we question] what would we need from a facilities standpoint. I don’t think there’s one specific thing. It’s always a variety of those ideas and thoughts that go into what we look at.”

According to Nightlinger, the outdoor stadium was a safety concern, since it was almost 45 years old. While that is a valid reason for the bleachers to receive an update, the scale seems unnecessary. Last year, there were four football home games and one outdoor assembly, so odds are the stands were completely full a maximum of five times. The bleachers are not only used by football, but such large bleachers would not fill up for any other sport.

A year later, Studio C was announced, costing just shy of $875,000, far over the projected $600,000. The school planned to make up for the difference with the remainder of the roofing budget, according to the Daily Herald. Still, the price is high for an addition that some students find completely unnecessary.

“Looking at [the small auditorium], it’s very underutilized,” Nightlinger said. “Not many people were using it for instruction. We could create something new and get a one hundred percent utilization by students, whereas we had a space that was twenty percent utilized by students.”

However, it would make more sense to improve the areas students are using every day as opposed to trying to make another usable space. At the same time as the Studio C work, the PE locker rooms were finally being renovated, something that should have been done years ago. Students have reported stolen items and broken lockers, and the rooms overall had a dirty, neglected feeling, something students should not be subjected to daily. The new locker rooms are definitely a step in the right direction. Students would appreciate seeing similar projects in the future.

Another example is the D and E wings, with their temporary walls that somehow became permanent. Because of this, classes can hear everything that goes on next door, and if one class takes a test while the other has an interactive activity, the first class will be miserable and distracted the whole time.

Nightlinger said the upper wings have not been renovated because people can still use the space for instruction. However, while it can be used, it has issues that can and should be resolved to make it a better learning space for everyone.

The projects that need the most attention are not glamorous, but they need to get done. It seems to students as though the school chooses the projects that look nicer on paper.