Shawano Middle School was first constructed in 1954, with additions to the

building made in 1961 and 1967. The building was originally outfitted with a steam

boiler that distributed heat to unit vents and air handlers throughout the building.

When the last addition was made in 1967, the original boiler was replaced with two

new steam boilers. The original unit vents, air handlers and steam pipes were kept

and integrated with the newer equipment that serviced the additions.

As none of this equipment has been replaced to date, this means that the boilers

are 48 years old and the steam pipes, unit vents, and air handlers are all between

48 and 61 years old. By industry standards, boilers typically have a service life of

25 to 30 years, unit vents and air handlers have a service life of 25 to 30 years, and

steam pipes have a service life of 50 years. Judging by these standards all of the

heating and ventilation equipment has either met or exceeded its service life.

Repairs to the equipment have become difficult and the possibility of a

catastrophic failure increases all of the time. What is more, the system design does

not meet current building codes, does not operate efficiently, and does not meet

modern day expectations.

Heating, Ventilation and Air

Conditioning System

The current boilers are 48

years old and have all

original parts on them.

Finding replacement parts is

difficult and sometimes

impossible. Due to their age

and older design, they are not

efficient and use more energy

than a new, hot water system

would.

The boiler vessels and other

pieces of equipment are

showing their age. Regular

inspections have assured

that the boilers are safe to

operate. There is concern

that this situation will not last

for much longer.

Throughout the building and

under the floors, there are

distribution pipes that carry the

steam to the unit vents and air

handlers.

The service life of these pipes is

50 years. These pipes are

between 48 and 61 years old.

Removal and replacement of all

of these pipes alone would be

over $1 million.

Alterations to the building over

the years have not been paired

with alterations to the heating

and ventilation system.

Here you see a unit vent that

was dissected by an added wall.

The two new rooms created by

the wall are now serviced by

one unit. The wall makes

servicing the unit difficult.

Unit vents like this one are

original and do not meet

current codes. This unit

services a locker room and

provides air from the gym

space, which is no longer

allowed.

Controlling the temperature

of classrooms and other

spaces is also difficult with

the old equipment.

Alterations to the building over

the years have not been paired

with alterations to the heating

and ventilation system.

Here you see a unit vent that

was dissected by an added wall.

The two new rooms created by

the wall are now serviced by

one unit. The wall makes

servicing the unit difficult.

Without air conditioning in

most of the building, the

indoor temperature can be

quite warm on hot days.

Building codes require that a

certain amount of fresh air is

provided to the occupants so

that the carbon dioxide levels

do not rise too high. The

outside air brought into the

building is not conditioned,

resulting in hot and

sometimes humid indoor air.

These conditions make

focusing on studies difficult

for the students.

Locker Rooms

The physical education locker rooms have many needs, one

of which is replacement of the lockers themselves. Many of

them do not operate correctly, and most of them are too

small for even one student to store their belongings.

The layout of the lockers in the boys area also creates a

difficult supervision situation. A different layout would allow

the teachers to be able to view the entire space and assure

that all the occupants are safe.

The bathrooms that serve the locker rooms are

small and in poor condition.

The bathroom and shower tile and fixtures are old

and worn out. The plumbing is also in need of

updating. In some cases showers that could not

be repaired were abandoned.

The size of the bathrooms does not allow for

handicapped accessibility and will need to be

brought into compliance with the Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA).

New showers would not only service the students

that attend the school but the many community

members that frequent the building during

recreational sports leagues.

An abandoned

locker room is now

used for many

purposes. On the

right, you see an

old shower area

being used to store

equipment.

Left, nearby there is

an office space for

two physical

education teachers

that doubles as a

laundry room.

The mezzanine has many needs

for improvement. Presently,

there are chain link fences that

separate the space from the

main gym and enclose the

fitness area. The fences do not

block out noise from one space

to the other, are not safe as they

can be climbed, and are

unsightly.

The layout of the mezzanine

could also change to

accommodate a larger fitness

and wrestling area.

An elevator is needed to make

the mezzanine handicapped

accessible so that it can be used

for instruction. Without ADA

accessibility, the mezzanine

cannot be considered as

instructional space.

Mezzanine

Concessions

The Parent Teacher Association is very active in the middle school selling

concessions at sporting events. Presently, the PTA is forced to store their goods in

two separate areas as the current concession stand is very small. In addition, they

must move all of their goods into the commons to sell at each event. After sales, they

are forced to use a bathroom sink to wash any serving dishes. Creating one

concession stand that is large enough for storage, concessions sales, and clean up

would not only help their efforts, but free up space that would otherwise be taken up.

There are many needed

code updates and

infrastructure corrections

in the food service

kitchen. The exhaust

hood is not outfitted with

a fire suppression

system. There are also

plumbing pipes under the

floor that have corroded

over the years and had to

be abandoned.

This resulted in having to

run new pipes on the

walls and ceilings to

supply water to sinks and

appliances. Wooden

butcher block

preparation tables are

also old, worn, and not

code compliant.

Kitchen

The majority of the appliances in

the food service kitchen are old and

well past their service life. Parts are

becoming increasingly difficult to

find. They are also not efficient and

use up more energy than newer

models do. The cooler is an older

“water cooled” model that not only

uses electricity but water as well.

Due to lack of space there is not a

walk in freezer resulting in storage

of large packages of frozen foods to

be stored at another building and

transported back and forth daily.

The main office to the middle

school is in need of updates

and renovations. The current

layout does not meet the needs

for space and flow for the staff

and visitors that use the space.

Changes to the space over the

years have left it in a “hodge

podge” condition. Abandoned

bathrooms are now used as file

and storage space. The addition

of wiring for technology had

resulted in wires running on the

surface of walls and across

floors. The staff that works in

the main office does not have

access to a bathroom of their

own. The flooring and

furnishings are old and in poor

condition as well.

Main Office

One of the many goals with the main office renovation is to incorporate the school

nurse office into the main office area. Presently the nurse office is located down the

hall from the main office. This separation creates problems with moving students

between the two offices and also leaves the school nurse without readily available

adults to assist with potential emergencies. In all of the other schools in our district

the nurse office is located within the main office area.

In order to make this happen the main office renovations will include gaining space

from an adjoining room that has a strange layout and needs updating as well.

Improvements to the

stage would update the

curtains that are very old

and worn out as well as

replace the safety pads

that protects from injury.

The stage is also not

handicapped accessible

resulting in the inability

of those in need of

assistance to use the

stage during promotion

ceremonies or theater

productions.

The addition of a wheel

chair lift would resolve

this issue.

Gym & Stage

The Shawano School District has a proud

tradition of strong music programs. The

band, orchestra, and choir rooms at the

middle school are in dire need of

improvements. The acoustics of the rooms

are poor, to say the least. Better use of

space is needed for the many musical

students to receive instruction, practice, and

store their instruments. Planned alterations

would greatly improve all of these areas.

Restroom access for the students of the

music/technical education wing of the

school is limited to one, very small

bathroom. Students are forced to walk to

another part of the building to use

restrooms. This creates concerns of

supervision and lost instructional time. The

one bathroom is also not handicapped

accessible. Plans for new bathrooms for

both boys and girls that are ADA compliant

will resolve these concerns.

Music Rooms