Sulphur Springs ISD
Construction at tennis courts, track ongoing
At the Monday Sept. 11 school board meeting, Sulphur Springs Independent School District Maintenance Director Dan Froneberger briefed trustees on a few issues brought to light during the first weeks of the 2023-24 school year.
Froneberger reported problems due to recent power outages that occurred at two schools. An outage at Barbara Bush Primary Monday was caused by a bird getting into the wires, which “knocked the electrical system out of phase [when voltage and current are out of sync],” he said. That issue was resolved quickly and easily.
A second outage, which occurred at Sulphur Springs Middle School last week, revealed a previously unknown issue with the building’s fire damping system. When that campus loses power, Froneberger explained, maintenance personnel must do an immediate manual shutdown of the campus A/C units, which are residential units rather than commercial ones, in order to prevent overheating.
During the shutdown process, maintenance workers discovered a problem with the fire dampers in the building. The dampers are supposed to close automatically when a fire is detected, or during fire drills and power outages.
The SSMS dampers were found to be already closed, which explained the large number of work orders requesting classroom temperature adjustments in the building. Fronberger said his team will investigate the issue and check all the dampers manually.
This was not an issue that could have harmed students, but fixing it will certainly make the environment more comfortable for students and staff.
A new department hire may make that process easier. SSISD has recently hired Chad Swatsell, who Froneberger described as “as top notch an electrician as there is.” Swatsell recently left his previous position at Flowserve. Once he renews his license, the district will have a master electrician on staff, Froneberger told the trustees. This will help SSISD save money in the event of electrical issues around the district.
Froneberger also reported the old concrete from the tennis court at SSHS has been removed and the new concrete will be poured Sept. 20, depending on how much rain falls between now and then.
Workers started milling the old asphalt on the SSHS track this week. Laying the new track surface is the next step in the process.
Froneberger said the department also completed gas testing for the district over the summer. ATMOS requires recertification every two years. SSISD is able to do this in-house rather than having to call in a plumber.