Construction Phase II
By Jacob Ferrall, Editor
PROGRESS: As the air conditioning project is wrapping up, other improvements to campus are considered.
For the last couple of years the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) project has been on the top of the agenda for construction at Poly, temporarily closing down school buildings that are being worked on. This year the 100 and 200 quads as well as the gym are scheduled to be worked on and finished around March. According to assistant principal Mr. Vaughan, the recent weather issues in the Midwest and East coast could cause a small delay in finishing the project. The transportation of necessary equipment was set back, but “It should only put us back a couple of weeks,” Mr Vaughan said. Minor issues in the 200 quad caused by storms could also lead to a delayed completion, but the HVAC project should be for sure completed this school year.
Moving on from the HVAC project, the California bond issue “Measure O” was approved during the 2016 presidential election, giving the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) 392 million dollars to spend. Mr. Vaughan explained that there are no current plans towards use of the money, but some Poly attendants have ideas. Poly students Shane Saylor (11) and Andrew Mueller (12) express sentiment for wanting improvements to the bathrooms and classroom equipment. Saylor says possible expansions to the school could include “new electives like woodshop or metal-shop.” Biology teacher Mr. Bagwell agrees that there is definitely room for improvement on Poly’s campus, proposing more seating and shade, as well as a better lunch system. “My students tell me buying lunch here is rough,” he explains. He says the food quality could be raised and the system could be much faster, “rather than stand in line for 20 minutes, shovel down your food, then go to class.” As for extracurricular improvements, Mr. Bagwell says he would like to see a campus garden in the future.
Measure O plans are not decided, but Mr. Vaughan says the Poly PTA has been raising money to replace old water fountains. A “Clean Water Refilling Station” has recently been added to the gym and is projected to take many plastic water bottles out of circulation at Poly, proving to be an environmentally sound decision.
With the construction of the HVAC project that has been invasive to many classrooms in past years finally finishing up, new projects can begin at Poly and staff members are already looking towards the future.