PACE High School is the oldest school building in the District.  Built in 1936, it holds a rich legacy of education, having served generations of Wapato students.  However, at nearly 90-years old, its age is manifesting itself in mounting safety and maintenance concerns.

The safety and security of PACE students/staff are challenged by its outdated layout.  The majority of classes are held in multiple portable classrooms that are not physically connected to the main building. Each hour when students transition to their next class, they must do so by going outside.  Also, each portable classroom has its own door to the outside, creating multiple points of entry that must be monitored.  Modern school buildings, like Wapato High School, have single entry points which are part of a broader strategy to create a safe and secure learning environment for students and staff.

Another safety challenge is the lack of a secure vestibule area in the main building. Once someone is allowed into the building there is no physical design feature keeping them from immediately accessing the interior of the building if they so choose.

Additionally, the learning environment is challenged by the building’s antiquated heating and cooling systems.  The main building relies on gas fired boilers to provide a radiant source of heat.  The annual maintenance of the dated system in use at PACE is costly. 

Annual routine maintenance alone, between the needed chemicals and the regular replacement of water tubes in the boilers, runs in the thousands of dollars. If there is a breakdown, like the condensate pump that failed earlier this school year and had to be replaced, maintenance costs continue to climb.

 

The cooling system is a patchwork of window mounted air conditioning units, portable air conditioning units and split system air conditioning resulting in inefficiencies and requiring various maintenance approaches.