Sen. Vitelli tours temporary Dike Newell Elementary School building
BATH — On Wednesday, March 22, Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, joined by Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, toured the old Bath Technical School and Morse High School, which is currently the temporary space for Dike Newell Elementary School. On June 11, 2022, a fire damaged Dike Newell Elementary School. After a second fire ignited two days later, over 50 percent of the school building was deemed a total loss. The pre-K through second grade students and staff relocated to the current site, which was leased from the City of Bath for one year.
“Although I have been following the sad events surrounding the school for months, I have not been able to visit the temporary site until today,” said Sen. Vitelli. “I admire the administration and faculty who have creatively turned this old building into classrooms that deliver a range of services and meet diverse needs. I’m also deeply impressed by the outpouring of support from the community, which raised $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign so that students could have books and musical instruments. But it’s not enough. These students cannot stay here forever. It’s unsafe and unsuitable for their learning. I urge the State Board to help RSU 1 and consider the school an emergency project in dire need of financial assistance.”
RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel and Dike Newell Elementary School Principal Jennifer McKay guided Sen. Vitelli through the old Bath Technical School and Morse High, where the Dike Newell Elementary School students are temporarily learning. Overall, the building was idle and unused for two years, requiring some upgrades to the elevator and new video surveillance technology. In some hallways, long runner rugs cover floor tiles that are coming up. Custodians had to construct and install ledges and coat hooks for students to leave their gloves, hats, coats and boots outside the classrooms. The building’s boiler heating system is out-of-date, with the school having to pay for heating unused spaces in the building. Dike Newell also has to buy and supply bottled water, since lead levels of the water have not been tested. The playground is located just feet away from High Street, which is a busy, high-traffic road. There are a fence and a rolling gate to help with student safety, but accidents are still a possibility.
Pre-K and kindergarten students study on the ground floor. Some classrooms have bathrooms, and some do not. The hallway bathrooms have just two stalls, and the toilets and sinks are adult-sized – making step stools necessary. The building’s garage has been converted to a physical education storage room and a faculty lounge. The building’s old kitchen has been converted into classrooms. In one classroom, the stove hood is still suspended from the ceiling, and the dishwashing area has been turned into a custodian’s space for storing cleaning equipment and supplies. A shared space – the Old Morse High School cafeteria – is used for both physical education classes and the cafeteria. When physical education classes finish, custodial staff have 10 minutes to move tables and convert the space into a cafeteria.
First- and second-grade students study on the second floor. These classrooms range in size, similar to the classrooms on the first floor. Space for projectors, whiteboards and televisions is limited and impacts what programs teachers can use. All 72 second-grade students have to walk to the ground floor, unsupervised, to use the bathrooms. The second floor has the library, the art room, the music room and special education classrooms. The library does not have shelves, so books have been categorized, sorted and stored inside labelled bins. The art room doubles as a space for Big Brothers and Big Sisters to gather. No student can access the third floor, but administration and faculty can use one space as a conference room.
Before the fire, Dike Newell Elementary School ranked 50th on the 2017-2018 Capital School Construction Fund list. Fisher Mitchell Elementary School, which provides education to students in grades three, four and five, is 22nd on the same list. The next rating cycle will take place in 2024.
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