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From 2000-2006, Edison 54JT School District, located in eastern
El Paso County, was the state’s sixth fastest growing
district. Edison grew by 42% during that timeframe while the
state’s school population increased by 9%.
Student population grew by 36 students, which may sound nominal,
but the 1922 school building is incapable of containing the
sustained increases. Technology requirements, such as computer
labs, contributed to the squeeze. The district needs to build
elementary classrooms, kitchen and cafeteria in order to accommodate
its students.
The problem is, Edison is a poor district as well as a high-growth
district. The district has a bonding capacity of $610,552,
which doesn’t come close to covering the $2.6 million
project. Considering the nationwide average for a new elementary
school is $9.6 million, the project is rather modest, but
needed.
The school building has several challenges besides the district’s
growth:
• The library is located in a former teacher’s
house near the school. The many-decades old home suffers
from severe mold infestation and a section of the library
has been closed because of the mold.
• The school has one boy’s and one girl’s
bathroom for first through twelfth grade.
• Preschoolers and kindergarteners have their own
bathroom because their trailer beside the school has a bathroom.
• The kitchen has been described by the Colorado Department
of Education’s nutrition team as “one of the
worst kitchens in the state of Colorado.”
• The kitchen’s walk-in and dry closets are
in a metal building completely separated from the kitchen.
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