OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Parents and community members in Bath County are speaking out after an open house at Bath County High School. Many took to social media to express concern over the school’s renovations. As school is set to start back this Thursday with more than 700 incoming students, there were questions about the building’s safety.
Community member Lora Goodpaster says, "I want the board to address it, I want the board to look into backing this date up. At least get it a little bit more safer. Wires and water don't mix."
A Bath County student's grandparent, Beverly Norton, says, "I mean, I'm speaking on behalf of the taxpayer, the parents, the students, and citizens of this community, and when I say we are all asking the superintendent and the school board to do is to provide a positive, a safe, nurturing, respectful environment.”
The district's superintendent, Steven Evans, showed LEX 18 the high school and addressed some of the issues that came up. He explained that the school is going through a two-year renovation that started at the end of last year. Some of the main concerns include a leaking roof, windows, and ceiling from air conditioning units, working a/c units, and exposed wires in the ceilings.
Evans says, "There are no high voltage wires up there, there's technology wires, you know fire alarm wires, and so no one would get electrocuted or hurt, but we also don't want any issues so parents can rest easy that no one’s gonna be electrocuted or something."
He says there are no safety concerns. The district's superintendent explains why delaying school wasn't the best option.
Evans shares, "The hallways — it will take months on months before we can get the tiles back in the hallways, and so we couldn't push school back far enough for this not to be the issue. If we push back, that pushes into summer, and then we have a lot of construction that has to take place in the summer while kids are out, big construction. And then that puts them on a different time frame, and everything is connected."
Evans shared that each school year, each building undergoes routine safety checks by the fire marshal, in addition to code inspectors, after each newly completed project. He says that this building isn't the only one in the district that should concern parents - referring to the district's middle school, which he explains is in poor condition.
"I would like to take this time to say that we have a middle school in much more disrepair that we will not — when I talked about funding — we will not have the funding to fully fund that and our kids, if you're upset at what you see here you should be very upset at what you see at our middle school,” says Evans.
This school year, the superintendent says the initial focus will be on making sure that kids get to school, making sure they're fed, and seeing that they get home safely. Parents and community members say that they want to see that kids in the community have a safe and successful learning environment.
Another Bath County Schools parent, Zachary Roberts, says, "Be transparent as to what's going on. If there is a delay with something in the construction that is going on, let us know that, do periodic updates."
This communities members say they want to see improved communication from the school district, and the district says that they are open to answering any questions and concerns.
