EMMETT, Idaho — The future of Emmett High School's dome buildings remains undecided — but community members who attended Tuesday night's forum say it is time for change.
The forum was part of a community meeting the Emmett School District holds every two months, where community members can speak directly with rotating board members about district finances, operations, and other topics. Tuesday's session focused on the dome assessment the district shared with the community last month.
About 15 to 20 parents attended, along with 10 to 12 high school students — many of them from a government class — who Superintendent Craig Woods said asked some of the tougher questions of the night.
Community members asked about the cost difference between retrofitting the domes versus building new, how a rebuild could be phased while students remain in the building, and how the House Bill 292 tax relief bill interacts with a levy.
Woods said the board has not yet had a chance to discuss those questions in depth.
"We didn't have a lot of great answers on that, but at least we listened to what they had to say," Woods said.
An engineering assessment prompted by structural concerns — including cracks, moisture issues, and other problems the district has been tracking — estimates repairs could cost up to $27 million. Woods said if a bond passes and the district moves forward with rebuilding the domes, the project would likely start with the exterior cover and drainage and move through phases over two to three years. He noted that the longer the process takes, the higher the costs will climb.
Emmett parent, Wyeth Crawford, a mechanical engineer working in the construction industry, attended Tuesday's forum and said the numbers discussed that night told a clear story. He said the domes originally cost between $5.5 million and $6 million to install in 1988 — a figure he said is closer to $9 million in today's dollars. Full repairs were discussed at around $25 million, with a new school estimated at $45 million to $50 million.
"Do you want to spend more money than it costs to build these, to repair them when they are poor facilities at best, no windows, rooms that the students bang their head on when they stand up," Crawford said.
Crawford said the repair option carries additional problems beyond cost. He said bringing the domes up to code would require eliminating the low-clearance classrooms that are not compliant with modern standards — reducing the school's legal occupancy at a time when enrollment is expected to grow. The school currently has a capacity of 800 students with 735 enrolled.
"It's not a flexible building, and what we need in a time where we know change is coming and coming rapidly, we need a more flexible solution," Crawford said.
Crawford noted the domes were originally built as a stopgap when funding for a new school could not be secured, and that they have outlived their usefulness.
"These buildings are inadequate, and it's time to do something different," Crawford said.
Crawford said his 4-year-old daughter is not yet in high school, but that the timeline for a major construction project means the decisions made now will directly affect her.
"If I want my daughter to come to this school ... I want it to be a facility that is worth going to, something that I think can actually foster a good learning environment. It needs to start changing now," Crawford said.
"I don't even know there's a bond coming up until I see signs going up in yards to vote no on it," Crawford said.
Crawford said the stakes of inaction are real.
"The other solution is to shut down the school and just let it rot. Like what else are we going to do?" Crawford said.
Woods said the district has not made any decisions yet about whether to repair the domes or eventually build a new high school.
"That's not a decision that I make. That's not a decision our board makes," Woods said. "It, it's up to the, to the community to say, yes, we agree with you or no, we don't."
Woods said he has asked district leaders to look at forming a committee to dig deeper into the questions facing the community.
"I've asked them to look at creating a committee that really digs in, ask the questions of our community," Woods said.
Woods said the proposed committee would be led by a board member but would not be run by the full board. He said it would need to include voices from across the district — parents, patrons, business owners, and residents from the Emmett, Sweet, Ola, and Letha areas — to ensure the right decision is made for the full community.
Woods said there is no bond set for the November election. He said the bond process typically takes about a year, meaning the earliest a bond could be placed on the ballot would be May. He said he hopes the board will decide before the end of the year whether to pursue a bond and, if so, which direction — rebuilding the domes or building a new school.
Since a previous Idaho News 6 report walking through the dome facilities, Woods said the district has heard from many community members.
"There's been a lot of outreach and saying, 'Hey, we don't want to see you put the money back into the domes. We'd rather invest in something that's new, you know, a new building,'" Woods said.
The dome assessment report is available on the district's website. Woods said community members who want to tour the facilities can contact the district to schedule a visit.
The school board is expected to discuss a possible community committee for the domes during tonight's board meeting at 6 p.m. at Butte View Elementary.
