Page Middle School Designed Backward

Charles Records Recent Statement To Us:  " I am a Professional Engineer and Gloucester County Public Schools has employeed dozens of other Professional Engineers, licensed by theCommonwealth of Virginia, to design this project. As a Professional Engineer, our singular duty is to protect the Life, Safety, Health and Welfare of the General Public and it is not a duty I or any other Professional Engineer takes lightly. It is a slap in the face to suggest otherwise."

I am not sure if Charles Records was taking responsibility with the above statement but either way I find it funny as all get out and I am going to explain why in this article.  The school was designed backward from everything we are looking at.  Let me explain this in detail here and show some more serious issues because of this backward design.

  From what we remember of the information about the design of this school Dr Ben Kiser traveled to Finland where he did some studies of their school designs and was apparently so impressed for some reason he wanted to build the same type of school here.  So what we need to do is actually look at the reason why anyone would want to copy FInland's model, especially when you take into consideration that Finland is a very cold country.  Much colder there than it gets here.  Summers as I understand it get into the 70's.

  But there like here, winter months have much shorter days than summer does.  So the objective is to maximize sunlight for several reasons.  One of many reasons for maximizing sunlight is for mental health.  Depression due to a lack of sunlight is a common issue in Finland.  It is not as bad here but has merit all the same.  The other is energy savings.  By maximizing sunlight, you can cut back on heating costs.  Heating is not as expensive as cooling.

  So how do you maximize sunlight?  You build your structures with a lot of glass.  You want that glass on the southern side to capture the maximum amount of sunlight as possible throughout the day.  Where is the majority of the glass in Page Middle School?  It's ............ on the northern and eastern side of the building.   It minimizes the amount of sunlight, not maximizes it.  Just like seen in the picture above.  The picture above was taken at about 3:00 PM in the beginning of September the 3rd to be exact.  Now come December through March, where we have the shortest days of the year, this is going to be a dark area instead of filled with light the way they are built in Finland.

  In Finland, during the warm months, their structures have canopies or awnings to block excessive sunlight from coming in to minimize their cooling expenses.  Page Middle School lacks these awnings, but since the glass is on the northern side, it does not need them as it is not maximizing the sunlight.  So what we are now doing is trying to heat and cool a structure that maximizes expenses and minimizes savings when it should be doing just the opposite.

  This creates a number of other issues that equally maximizes our expenses and minimizes savings.  As we already pointed out the maximum amount of sunlight is on the southern side of a structure.  The northern side has the least amount of sunlight coming in.  Again what does that mean?  With Page being over 2 stories high, shadows are maximized on the northern side of the building.  So what?  During the cold months the courtyards in the back of the school as well as the parking lot where the buses come and go is getting the least amount of sunlight which means it gets the maximum amount of freezing time.

  When little Johnny and Sally are getting off the buses or on the buses, this is the area with the maximum amount of frozen ground and potential ice problems.  The front of Page which gets the maximum amount of southern sun will be the safest areas to walk.  But that is not where the majority of the students will be coming and going.  The majority will be subject to the worst areas of the property.  This also means that the school board will have to use more chemicals to keep the areas free of ice and snow.  Anyone know what those chemicals do to concrete and asphalt?  It deteriorates them at a very accelerated rate.

    
Again as seen in the above picture, the maximum amount of sun is not being produced as the design is backward.  This is the northern side of Page Middle School.  Picture taken from the second floor looking out into one of the courtyards.

  During the short months, this will be the shadow view of about 11:00 AM.  The glass on that back north western corner is just not producing any sunlight at all for the open design.  Instead it maximizes cold which maximizes costs and minimizes comfort of the students, teachers, and staff as well as minimizes savings.

And the lack of a drop ceiling is yet another question as to why anyone would want this?  The purpose of a drop ceiling is to minimize heating and cooling expenses.  Instead we have wide open ceilings that maximizes costs and sacrifices comfort for everyone.  Is it more appealing?  That is up to the individual to consider.

The mantra we keep hearing from the school board is that it is now all water under the bridge and we need to be proud of this new school.  The more we continue to look at it the more we see it as the "THE GREAT MONUMENT TO STUPIDITY."

  Now if Charles Records has a reason why the design of the school is the way it is and how it is saving us money instead of costing us more money than it should we would love to hear it and we will be happy to publish it.   To us it looks like it was designed backward which is costing us all a lot more than it should at so many levels.  We look forward to hearing from Charles Records on this or anyone else who has sound reasons for this design.

  Let us make one thing very clear.  As far as construction goes we have no issues with what we have seen so far.  From the looks of it, Oyster Point Construction Company, did an outstanding job with the designs they had to work with.  They should be commended for the quality of the work.  We are not questioning any area of the construction.  We are questioning a great deal of the design work.  We do not doubt that safety was taken into consideration as far as implementing the design work.  It's the many areas where the design simply is not appropriate for a Middle School and its students, teachers and staff, or where costs are concerned and we have seen a number of areas where there are, in our opinion, final design flaws that need to be addressed right away with some we have only reported to county authorities.  And with that said, this is why we call Page Middle School, The Great Monument To Stupidity.

  We are nowhere near done with our reports on issues we see and keep hearing about regarding Page Middle School.

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Charles Records Response To Us About Page Middle School

Mr. Thompson, Thanks for the opportunity to comment on your last story concerning Page Middle School. Here is my response in its entirety to ensure no editorial liberties are taken. Good Morning Mr. Thompson,

Thanks for your message asking me to respond to your article concerning Page Middle School. I would be happy to take you and any other citizen of Gloucester County on a tour of the new building at anytime to dispel many of the false statements you have made in the story which I have included below for reference. It behoves the both of us to represent the truth, for me as an elected official, and you as a journalist.

I will try to respond to each of the items you mention as follows:

1. Fence at Rear of Building - The fencing is 6’ high and has capped tops on each individual newel post and baluster. In the event children are climbing on it, as you suggest, we have another problem which is supervision of our students. I have gotten to know the Staff at all of our schools and I don’t believe any of us have to worry about inadequate supervision. I also question the standards that you may think our children have. Our middle school students do use common sense and are generally well behaved.  (I might agree with you if you have one teacher per student.  Otherwise I just can not go along with the idea that 1 teacher can watch 25 students all at the same time.  Also, if the children, preteens, teenagers, offspring, are in fact as well behaved as you suggest, then I guess we will not see any form of detention this year for any of them?)

2. Railing Heights - The top of the railing astragals at Page Middle School are 42” high, not 3’.  (I corrected that in the last article as we did a measurement based on a photo that is not online.  We figured about 40 inches and will measure it with your tour.  Thank you.)

3. Lockers next to Railings - The Locker is in essence just like the railing, 42” high. If a student climbs on the lockers, or the railings for that matter, I would have the same response at Item #1.  (See 2. above.)

4. Mortified Engineer - I’m unsure of who your engineer is, as you didn’t identify them by name. I would wonder if they are a Licensed Professional Engineer or not. I am a Professional Engineer and Gloucester County Public Schools has employeed dozens of other Professional Engineers, licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, to design this project. As a Professional Engineer, our singular duty is to protect the Life, Safety, Health and Welfare of the General Public and it is not a duty I or any other Professional Engineer takes lightly. It is a slap in the face to suggest otherwise.  (You can speak with him at the next meeting between the BoS and School board joint meeting.)

5. Visible Escape Routes - As you mention "A question that has been brought to my attention is how did the school board manage to get a certificate of occupancy especially when there are no visible escape routes and or facilities for handicapped children that might be on the second floor? None." There are visible safety route signs placed strategically throughout the entire building. No less than 250 safety evacuation route signs exist and there are also another 90 exit signs that are lit in the event of a power failure to identify exit locations. I have attached a few pictures that show exactly what you say doesn’t exist. The pictures are of appurtenances to safely get physically disabled people from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor in the event of an emergency.  (Signs are not the concern.  Nice deflection.  How are you going to move handicapped children out if an emergency comes about and especially if they are on the second floor.)

You also go on to state, "If a fire should engulf the front of the building, the children will be locked in an outdoor courtyard that is fully fenced in with locked gates trapping them from being able to get out to safety.” This statement is ridiculously inaccurate. In the event of a fire at the front of the Building, the kids would exit the building into the rear courtyards and simply push the bar on the gate and walk through it. The gates operate just like any other commercial door, push the bar to exit. They aren’t locked from the inside, they are locked to the outside. This functionality also serves another important purpose and that is to keep unwanted guests from entering the building.  (This is good to know.  We did not get that part of the tour.  Have no issues being corrected here as our only interest is that of the public.)

With respect to the Certificate of Occupancy, it is appalling to suggest that anything other than the typical course of Occupancy was completed. To do so is reckless. What exactly do you mean to infer, when the State Fire Marshall, the Gloucester County Building Official, County Inspectors, Licensed and Bonded Contractors, School Board members, School Staff, Engineers, Architects and Private Third Party Inspectors have worked diligently to satisfy the myriad of design and building code requirements for a building of this kind? (That is real simple, please address 5 above and I want to thank you for the list of who is responsible should an accident befall any student due to what many consider a poor design and implementation of those 2nd floor rails.  My concern is the safety of the students and you are a pompous ass to word the above the way you have.  I must remind you that you are the public servant who answers to the people and not us who dare question stupidity.  May I suggest you take a course on the US Constitution through my friend Gary Porter who offers these and are published on this site.)

6. News Coverage - The News Station covered the Open House for one simple reason. We used to have another Middle School, 4 years ago it was destroyed by a tornado and it devastated our community. We have built a new school and it was opened to students for the first time. (That was just ridiculous on your part to even go there.)

7. Open Space in Building - The building design will stand the test of time and will be judged by it. Could it have been designed differently? Sure. Does it have high ceilings and large corridors? Yes. Is it something we should be proud of now that it is complete? Yes. I was a vocal private citizen when this was all being planned but, at the end of the day, the building is done. Adults have argued their points for nearly 4 years but now - the more important part - it is complete and What do the kids think about it? I am unsure if you noticed when you attended the Open House but the kids were amazed by it, The first day of school was flawless and the kids were amazed by it. Today they will walk in and they will be amazed by it. So while you, and many others I’m sure, still want to continue the contentiousness…it is over, water under the bridge. We can now, in the coming months, reflect and learn from the entire process to ensure several things are done differently for the next project, but this project is complete. 

 (Okay, let's really address this shall we?  We fought with the school board and the board of supervisors over many issues here and it was railroaded through regardless of what any of the people thought.  No one in the public were told what the interior designs would look like or that the county had plans for wasting taxpayer money so foolishly.  Proud of the school?  I am seriously thinking of taking my own out of it for safety reasons.  I only need one good reason at this point.)

8. Exercise Room - Childhood Obesity is a serious problem that we need to try to solve, this fitness room hopefully will help to those ends. As your pictures show, most of the equipment is for cardiovascular exercise and will be integrated into our Program of Studies in Middle School which also aligns with the curriculum at our High School.  (What medical doctors were consulted here?  From what I am seeing online through medical experts, you need an experienced weight trainer to design specific programs per person here.  Do you have such a person?  I will check with my own doctor for further information.)

9. Safety in General - 2 story school buildings are not uncommon throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia or the entire Nation. See above.  (And where did that come from?  That was just ......well...... not needed.  But gee, thanks all the same.  I went to several of them.  Another of your pompous ass comments)

With respect to the Waterline at Page Middle School, I offer the following - Mr. Hogge sent the School Board and Board of Supervisors several messages concerning the inadequate cover over the pipe, Mr. Hutchinson’s latest response, which you published, explained exactly what we plan to do to remedy the situation. Mr. Hogge’s response was as follows:

"Outstanding!! This is very good news. Great work!! Thank you Mr. Hutchinson, and please thank everyone involved. - Kenny"

Why don’t you publish that? I’m guessing because it doesn’t “sell” the story.

(I am going to love this.  Here is why Charles.  You are NOT privy to private conversations between Mr Hogge and myself.  So let me clue you in.  Kenny's statement above is in regards to making sure that those responsible for having screwed up the 16 inch pipes being disturbed after being put in the first time is what the comment refers to.  What you are not aware of is that Kenny's personal opinion and I restate "OPINION" is that those pipes can break at anytime causing massive flooding due to the joints being disturbed causing a weakening of those pipes.  Then it might turn out to be a great idea that the mountain of dirt was left so that the students and teachers have some place to escape to.)

As an aside, it appears your blog has been created to promote transparency, yet from my viewpoint, shows your discontent. The title of the two articles alone; “Page Middle School, Serious Life Threatening Concerns to Consider” and “The Waterline at Page Middle School: Disaster Waiting to Happen Here Too?” is typical of media sensationalism to a degree that questions your integrity as a journalist. I’ve attached both articles for your reference. As a member of an elected Board we are no strangers to criticism but I would like to remind you of an old saying: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." This particular story asserts facts that are blatantly false as highlighted above. (You have only corrected one area that I see after we did so.  You have not corrected any facts.  What we do on this site is done to protect the people from potentially corrupt government and inform the people of what is going on in the community.  Can you please explain to me as we publish articles and ask a lot of questions, various members of staff from the county continue to leave?  Wait, don't tell me, it's all a coincidence right?)

I look forward to scheduling an appointment with you to discuss/tour Page Middle School if you have any further questions. In the event you choose to use my response in a sensational way on your blog, consider this our last correspondence. (Gee, what happened to the statement you made about transparency?  I would not call this a sensational use of your comments.  It is only fair that I show both sides of the story.  This statement shows that you were purposely trying to avoid having your ridiculous statements shown the light of day and that you are truly a pompous ass.  Does this mean you will now purposely hide facts from the public?  I guess this will not help your re election campaign?  Also, does this mean the offer for you giving us a tour is now off?  I really want to film that.  And one other area, you forgot to mention is that your invitation for response was in fact meant for the public to see on this site.  That has to hurt.)

Have a great day,
Charles Records
Vice Chairman
Gloucester County School Board

Thank you Charles for taking the time to address our concerns.  I am sorry if we do not agree on various areas.  Our concerns are the students and the parents.  I am not sure of yours however except to limit liability of the school which one could argue is looking out for the public's interest as it is the public that always pays for everything that government does whether it is right or wrong.  

One final area I would like to address is the 2 story open floor plan and how this is a huge waste of taxpayer money as it raises the heating and cooling costs exponentially.  With the federal and state government putting out a lot of pressure for going green to save energy costs and usage, how does this ridiculous design fit within a green environment?  Or is the government lying to us?  That would seem a fair question.  But I am sure someone has a spin for this to make it sound as though this design is in fact green.

That is a very large area to have to heat and cool.  That is also some very serious equipment outside to do such a job.  Gloucester County School Board.  Now you know.

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Page Middle School Now Open With More Issues

It's an interesting building that there is no question about.  Some issues experienced yesterday with the new school include problems with the phone lines as well as problems with the Internet.  Not a big deal especially being a new school and not having much time to work out all the bugs.

  One area that begs to question is why isn't the cafeteria not yet functional?  And why did the school board order pizza's for the school children instead of having the food made at other area schools and bringing it into this school?  It would seem logical to have gone that route as opposed to ordering pizza.  What an order some business received over this.

We did a bit more checking and the rail on the second floor is probably 40 inches high as it should be.  A number of readers think that nothing will ever get thrown over that rail for any reason and that to think so otherwise is foolish.  It is their belief that every child is raised by parents who are very diligent in teaching their children between right and wrong.  I hope they are correct but a walk through any store suggests otherwise.  To think that every child, preteen, and teenager has been brought up to the highest standards of society is rather foolish.

  I have no wish for seeing any form of even mild mischief to take place yet to think it will not happen and that teachers will surely prevent such at every moment of everyday again is wishful thinking at best.  It is not only my opinion but also the opinion of others that designs throughout this structure are considered potentially dangerous.

How many teachers are out in this hall all day to make sure there are no issues and how is that cost effective when it comes to staffing?

Now a question about open design.  People are complaining that I would even complain about the waste of space this open design creates.  I am not the only one saying this.  This is also coming from an engineer as well as people that have been involved in constructing schools.  It's a heating and cooling nightmare for one.  Those claiming that open design is not an issue have not had to deal with the problems of heating and cooling such a structure.

So the above picture that shows two stories of open window space is needed for educational purposes?  I have no issues with the windows for each floor being the way they are, but how many classes could have been built in here that are now wasted?

Now the classrooms are nice looking.  What I have to wonder about is the windows as large as they are affecting the learning process.  The reason for the question is that anyone walking through the hall could very well be a distraction to the class or some in a class.

  The reason you have not seen these types of designs in schools in the past is because designers knew and understood these issues.  Today though it has become very unfashionable to ever question those in charge.  We should just accept what those in charge do.  If there is an issue then you blame the parents for not teaching their children, kids, preteens, teenagers, or whatever anyone wants to call their offspring these days, for not teaching them how to maintain the highest standards of society.

The lunchroom or cafeteria from another angle.  Open floor plan.  

The cafeteria food serving section is nice looking.  Hope it's up and running soon.  If you are just looking at the aesthetics of the overall design it is nice looking.  Modern, simple, and clean.  If you are looking at it from a liability standpoint, it is fraught with a host of "potential" issues.  Potential is the key word here.  Most people are not looking at the potential issues.  Those that are have been fast to discredit our initial post about this school and it's overall design because of the liability issues being faced.  The rail height on the second floor as seen in the above picture were brought up during construction but were blown off.  If something heavy gets thrown off that area or falls by some weird accident anyone below could be seriously hurt.  This is why schools in the past were not designed like this.  

  

     A number of people do not consider the fencing around the back of the building to be an issue.  Will the children, preteens, teenagers, or your offspring not try and climb these fences?  The design is against climbing them.  If you are foolish enough to try and climb over one you will probably get hurt.  It is designed to keep people out that have no business being there.  The fences meet construction standards and are upper end fences.  No question.  But again you have to be foolish enough to think that every child, preteen, teenager, offspring, have all been brought up in households where the highest standards of society have been instilled in them and that they all follow those standards to the hilt at all times with no question.

     We have invited Charles Records to write a letter to dispel the posts here.  He has invited members of the public to tour the school so that he could dispel what has been posted.  We await his reply and will bring that to you if he does respond.

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