School is in session, and today’s lesson? Byron Kibler Elementary.

Enumclaw School District’s $253 million bond measure is coming up for a vote on Feb. 14, and at its center is a replacement for the 70 year-old building.

The Courier-Herald has published several articles about the bond, and the Enumclaw School District has hosted three bond chats to showcase its needs and answer questions.

But unless you attended the chats, watched the district’s two-minute project highlight videos online, or routinely visit Byron Kibler Elementary, the high school auditorium, or the Pete’s Pool stadium, you may not have a good idea what these buildings and facilities are like and how their conditions can affect students and their ability to learn, perform, and compete.

So as the countdown to Election Day nears zero, here’s a three-part series to give you an in-depth look at what conditions are like inside ESD’s oldest elementary school, the high school performance space, and its historic football field.

THIS BOND BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER ‘L’

Buildings that are nearly three-quarters of a century old are going to have myriad issues, even if they’re well maintained.

At Kibler, one of the biggest issues it seems everyone has a personal experience with is leaks; anyone walking down the halls or looking into classrooms can spot countless damaged ceiling tiles, stained fluorescent light covers, and water marks on the walls.

Many teachers have stories about coming into their rooms to find water trickling down their doors and ruining artwork given to them by their students, or damaging books when water pools on shelves.

“One time, last year, there were 17 buckets in the hall,” one teacher said, while pointing out other leaks — since patched up — in his classroom and others nearby .

A second teacher doesn’t find water dripping onto her students’ desks, but grass, dirt, and weeds.

These leaks are a constant problem, at least in part, because while district maintenance is quick and efficient at fixing these leaks, the school’s HVAC system was purposefully built to be exposed to the elements.

“You can’t fix it, it’s just the way it was made,” said Principal Travis Goodlett. “If they were to seal it up… the HVAC wouldn’t work right.”

Not that the system works well right now in any case — but more on that later, because while the leaks can be a pain at best, and damaging at worst, they’re really nothing compared to the lakes that Kibler creates.

There’s one in the boiler room that comes and goes on a constant basis, Goodlett said — right under the desk of custodian Ken Sneen; “His carpet will be wet, all the time.”

Goodlett even needed to address a flood, this time in what staff call the “laminating room”, on his very first day on the job.

“I couldn’t figure out where the water came from,” Sneen said. “There’s a drain in that room, and there was two and a half, three inches of water still in there.”

Finally, there’s the infamous Lake Kibler out back, which covers nearly three-quarters of the grassy play area when it rains, making it unusable — compliments of the school having been built on wetlands.

There’s not much crews can do about the “mud fest” on the field, but Sneen said Kibler easily gets the lion share of the district maintenance team’s attention.

“The biggest thing is, we have maintenance out here for heaters,” he continued. “Heaters and leaks.”

According to District Director of Facilities, Operations, Athletics Phil Engebretsen, the lack of modern heating equipment means repairs to the antiquated boiler are costly and inefficient.

As a result, teachers and students get extremes — either they need to bundle up, or they’re sweating it out.

“Monday morning, when I came in here, it was 57 degrees, and it warmed up to 62,” one teacher said, noting that when the heat was fixed, it jumped to 72 degrees.

Other modern amenities the school lacks include air conditioning (no cooling in the summer months); ADA accessible bathrooms (there is only one ADA bathroom for both boys and girls); a separate gym, cafeteria, and music room (which limits what sort of activities can be held at one time); a security system that would allow staff to watch in real-time via monitors what’s happening around the school (as opposed to only having the capability to review footage later); an electrical system that can manage the new technology schools are now expected to have, from wifi and laptops to smart boards and mics for teachers; and up-to-date plumbing and drinking fountains.

As to that last item, both Engebretsen and Goodlett stressed that water at Kibler and other schools is tested annually for lead and other hazards.

Still, at the beginning of every school year, “we have to… literally, go through the entire building and open up all the faucets and let them run for about 20 minutes,” Sneen said. “I would say it [looks] like coffee with cream. A little redder.”

So the water is safe, “but… it probably doesn’t taste real great,” Goodlett added.

Put all these issues together, and Kibler’s front door is practically revolving to allow maintenance in and out every day, especially to take care of leaks.

“It’s like the old story — you can only put so many fingers in so many holes,” Sneen said.

And with crews at Kibler, that means they can’t be elsewhere.

“It definitely takes away from preventative maintenance,” Engebretsen said, meaning ESD’s other older buildings are aging faster.

“The truth of the matter is, there’s a lot of older schools in the district, and they need the care too,” Sneen added.

LEARNING IN SPACE – OR A LACK THEREOF

While about $89 million of the bond would go toward constructing a new Byron Kibler (and Birth to Five Center) and address all the issues above and more, there’s one more problem ESD staff need to tackle: capacity.

According to Engebretsen, the school is currently at capacity with 430 students, forcing teachers and paraeducators to constantly shuffle around in order to meet their charges’ needs.

But Enumclaw is growing, and the district needs to find a place to put newcomers.

If the bond passes, that means Kibler’s capacity will increase to 500-plus, and a new Ten Trails elementary will have capacity for more than 600 kids.

If it doesn’t, though, this could mean bussing kids to school buildings further away or constructing new portables to handle the growing population, money from the general budget that would normally go elsewhere.

“If the bond does not pass, the main concern with Kibler Elementary is mitigating the significant impact that a 70 year old facility has on students, staff, and learning. However, future growth within the city of Enumclaw could also have an impact with the current capacity of Kibler if a bond measure is not passed,” Engebretsen wrote in a later email interview. “Kibler classrooms are already full and as anticipated growth continues the school will exceed capacity and require measures to mitigate this challenge.”

‘SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW’

Some residents oppose the bond because it would raise their property tax levels too high; others have said that while the district needs new schools, it does not need a new performing arts center or sports stadium.

And still others, Goodlett said, have expressed that they’re attached to the Kibler they attended, and their children should get the same experience.

To that effect, ESD is looking to bring some elements from the old Kibler to the new building, if the bond passes — what sorts of items are yet to be determined, but Goodlett said that the district wants major input from the public and staff members.

“Something that reflects the tradition of Kibler in the new building would be fantastic,” he added, noting that the Black Diamond Elementary, built in 2017, uses original building materials and incorporates photos and other media detailing its predecessor’s history. “I imagine they will do the same with the J.J. [Smith]/Kibler combo.”

Photo by Ray Miller-Still Byron Kibler custodian Ken Sneen showing how his office and work space occasionally floods, either with water coming in from the outside or a defunct pump in the back.

Leaks behind walls cause rot, like what’s shown here in a Kibler bathroom, that isn’t easy to take care of. Photo by Ray Miller-Still

Water damage, like what’s shown here, is common throughout Byron Kibler Elementary. The teacher who uses this particular room said this leak ruined all the books on the shelf it was over. Photo by Ray Miller-Still