It’s 53 years old. It’s been refinished several times. But signs of age have begun to show in the DCHS gymnasium floor and recently school officials learned it was termite infested. So the old floor will soon be replaced with a new one.
The Board of Education Thursday night authorized Director of Schools Patrick Cripps to get a company to do the project.
Cripps told the board that while there have been issues with the gym floor, the termite problem was not known until recently. “We actually thought it was a moisture issue. We had a company come in and when they cut the floor open down on one end termites started flying everywhere. The moisture from the termites is starting to cause warpage of the floor. It’s now on the playing surface and getting worse. We have sanded it down as much as we could and put wood filler in but it is not in good shape. It’s especially not in playing shape,” said Cripps.
The estimated cost to replace the gym floor is $153,000 but Cripps said money is available in the school system’s capital outlay fund to cover it.
“We had a couple of people come in and look at the floor and give us prices on what products they could give us. The floor has been there since 1963. It has never been changed (replaced). I think the last time they screened it down they said that would be the last time they could because they were just about down to the nail heads on it,” said Cripps.
“For the safety of our kids and having a nice product, I believe this is needed. I don’t want anyone to think we’re putting athletics before education. That is not the case here. We have to look at a safety issue with our kids and the possibility that somebody could get hurt playing ball. The money will come out of our capital outlay fund. That money is used for projects such as this to enhance the building. It will not come out of any teacher line item in the budget or anything like that. It (capital outlay fund) is designated for the upkeep of our buildings,” Cripps said.
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