Open house sheds light on safety issues at Hilltop Elementary School in Canfield

CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) – On Wednesday night, the Canfield Local School District held an open house at Hilltop Elementary School. This was part of an initiative to educate the public about why school officials say they need money to improve their schools.

Leaking ceilings, classrooms without doors, thin walls, exterior doors that don’t stay closed are just a few of Hilltop Elementary’s problems.

“We have a big problem. Classroom walls are a problem where we don’t have heads butted heads together… walls against walls. So we have a problem with noise going through a wall and into another classroom.” Principal Michael Flood said.

Flood said the goal in elementary school is for children to get up from their seats and move around, talk and sing to help them learn. With a classroom this small, smaller than state requirements, this is difficult.

“There are open classes that need to be secured,” says Flood.

The original portion of Hilltop was built in the 1970s, before school shootings became a national problem. Many security features are missing, such as a vestibule that is separate from the rest of the school where visitors check in. These missing security features necessitate additional patrols around the hall.

“We typically walk around the school every 30 to 45 minutes to make sure all school doors are locked at all times,” says Flood.

Elementary schools are known for being too cold in the winter. Flood said he had to close his front office for several weeks last year because the temperature didn’t top 40 degrees.

Architects working on the project say they expect an HVAC system, a leaky roof, and crumbling bricks in the 50-year-old school.

“The problem with school facilities is not unique to Canfield, as school buildings in Ohio are aging, averaging 100 to 50 years,” said education master planner Cheryl Fisher. increase.

The cost of improvement is only going up. In 2018, the necessary repairs cost him $13 million. Today it’s over $18 million.

The district will host three additional open house meetings.

• October 26, 2022 at CH Campbell Primary School
• At Canfield Village Middle School on November 16, 2022
• December 7, 2022 at Canfield High School

Both start at 18:00