Fifth graders at Wrightsville Beach School admit the school needs a little TLC.
Cooper Hyldahl said there is a tree growing in the chimney. Avery Jones is worried one of the big old pipes speckled with duct tape will burst. Madeline Ebelherr ripped her book bag trying to maneuver it in and out of the school’s tiny lockers.
Still, many students wish they could attend class in one of the building’s seven classrooms instead of stopgap spaces, like 10 trailers on the school’s campus and two classrooms in a nearby church.
Hyldahl said none of his classes have been in the main building, although he is bussed with his classmates from the Baptist church to school for lunch, library time, physical education or art.
“I’ve never got to be in the building. I got lost in the trailers, really confused because it’s almost like a maze of trailers,” Hyldahl said. “Being at the church, it loses the sense of community at the school. I feel like I’m in a different school now.”
Out of a group of eight students pulled from two fifth-grade classes, Jones was the only one who had a class in the main building, a kindergarten and first-grade combination class.
“I definitely liked being in the building a lot better because it’s so much easier to get around. Like Cooper said, it is a maze. We’re definitely overcrowded. We need more trailers than most people think,” Jones said.
There are some perks to meeting in the church. It is quieter, and the water tastes better than the salty stuff that spews out of the school’s water fountains, but it still feels crowded. Students quickly reported they would rather have another fifth-grade classroom at the school instead of an art room, which replaced a traveling art cart this year.
“We don’t really need an art room. [Our teacher] can just ask kids to help her with bumps on the ground, and she can easily get it into our trailers,” said Chase Kelly.
Students understand the school will undergo needed improvements if voters approve a $160 million school bond in November, and they know a possible tax increase could keep voters from approving the bond.
“Occasionally, taxes are good. They do help us,” Jones said.
David Mullaney suggested taxes used to improve schools might be worth it.
“If people are worried about having to pay extra taxes, and they knew it was going to the school, I would be fine with it because … it would be for a good cause, for more children to get a better education,” Mullaney said.
If the bond is not approved, the students have a few back-up plans, like selling the trailers or using money raised by the Wrightsville Beach School Foundation or PTA.
Josh Gans said the town could help, too.
“I hear that most of Wrightsville Beach’s money comes from parking meters,” Gans said.
Even if the building is shabby and crowded, students said they are grateful for unique opportunities offered at the school.“I think this school is probably one of the greatest schools ever because we’re one of the only schools in the district that has a marine biology class,” Jones said. “The teachers, they just work so hard. They’re so devoted.”
Gans agreed.
“We’re one of the only schools in North Carolina whose school is right on the bay, with a little dock so we can go fishing and kayaking. I think that’s really important,” Gans said.
Wrightsville Beach School’s last major structural improvement was completed in 1970. If the bond secures enough voter support, the school will be renovated and expanded in a $7.3 million project, which includes a second floor of classrooms and support offices. All students would attend classes in the new building.
For more information about the bond, visit www.nhcs.net/bond
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