March 29, 2024

Berg tour is eye-opener

Imagine trying to concentrate in an extremely hot room in the middle of the winter or in an extremely cold room in the fall and spring along with a musty damp smell nearly every day with no thermostat to control the temperature or windows to let in fresh air.

In 2000 – 2002, I worked under those conditions in a classroom at Berg as have many others over the years. My problem was solved when one of my colleagues resigned. I was able to move across the hall to a classroom that had windows and a thermostat. That meant that other students and teachers had to be exposed to those deplorable conditions.

Curiosity caused me to tour the Berg complex on Tuesday evening. I was particularly interested to find out if anything had ever been done to rectify the problems that I had experienced many years ago. It was exciting to see the improvements that had been made, and it was obvious that the custodial staff had been very busy making it look great.

The tour was a real eye-opener. I was able to see what had caused all of the problems with the dampness, musty smell, and temperature issues in my classroom. Much to my dismay, my former classroom and many other classrooms are still having those same problems, especially with temperature control. There is now a dehumidifier that runs almost constantly in my former classroom. The carpet in the adjacent room had to be removed due to the continual dampness. Money could be spent on remodeling, but many deficiencies, mainly heating/cooling the inside rooms, would remain. Nothing can be done to correct the temperature problems because of the original design of the building.

Like many others, I have not always agreed with the decisions that have been made by administrators and school board members in years past. Now we need to move forward and do what is best for our students, educators, and community. If you have any doubts about the necessity of rebuilding Berg, please go on the tour, which will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Sept. 11. Please join me on Sept. 13 and vote “yes” to “Preserve the Pride, Build the Future.” It will be the best investment you can make for $0.08/$1,000 taxable assessed valuation.

JoAnn Bringolf

Newton