Last year, Krista Owens came to the Pendleton County Board of Education to offer her family’s help and expertise in constructing improved facilities for high school athletics. She cited the poor conditions of aging locker rooms, the weight room, and other issues, proposing a new “fieldhouse” as a solution.
This proposal ran up against specific state requirements for school construction as well as the rising costs of materials and other inputs. Though not off the table, this proposal was seen as a more long-term solution.
Enter Derek Lambert just as he had resigned to accept his new role as superintendent of Randolph County Schools.
“I know there has been a lot of talk for a lot of years for making a fieldhouse for the football team,” shared Lambert, clad in a Wildcat football T shirt for the occasion. He then explained that he “came to the board for permission . . . to provide our own in-house fieldhouse for the football team.”
He provided two artificial intelligence created mock-ups of what the new facilities might look like, and explained how the school could do this at no cost save “sweat equity.” Lambert asserted, “There is just not enough money to go around for a fieldhouse.”
The first step came in Liberty Community Programs offering to donate to PCM/HS good condition weight room equipment from the former United States Navy Base at Sugar Grove. LCP has established a series of programs to assist in treatment of autism, drug addiction, and other behavioral health needs and has actively donated a large slate of items into the community.
Lambert’s innovation centered around moving the current library to a large classroom being vacated for next year to group high school social studies teachers in the same general part of the complex. His AI image showed the weight room equipment in that space for the benefit of the board and Nicole Hevener, superintendent.
To address questions about the library, Lambert stated that most of the books have grown obsolete, noting that decades-old World Book encyclopedias still occupy a lot of shelf space. He added that almost the only time the library is used is for various meetings and when teachers want to have extra space for special projects.
The new library would have an updated collection while still providing ample space for small meetings and projects. He added that larger gatherings, such as local school improvement council meetings, could use the auditorium.
Lambert described the current library as “the biggest space in the building” and also “the most underused.”
Additionally, this would create a ripple effect where chronic problems with restricted locker room space and the need for game officials to use Janice Heavner’s classroom to shower (a West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission requirement for hosting games) would end. “It would create a third locker room, convenient for when the facility hosts two athletic events at once,” Lambert said.
His continual theme throughout was that the football team deserves updated facilities, students deserved a “more purposeful” library, and reiterated that the change could cost no money at all. That said, Lambert continually emphasized that the weight room would be for use by all students.
One potential cost could lie in replacing a window in the current library with a new door to the outside, but stated that if that was not possible “it’s not a do or die” for the project.
That would be “in theory, the only expense” in the entire project, saying the heavy lifting would involve him, the football coaches, and other volunteers.
Board members posed questions, starting with J. D. Wilkins asking about weight room shower facilities. Lambert said, “They don’t shower,” in part because the current weight room showers are caged shut and used for storage.
Wilma Pitsenbarger, board member and subject matter expert in reading in education, asked about how the library collection would be updated, to which the resigning principal stated that a committee of English teachers would take on the task.
Then came the question of various aromas that can come from workout rooms, to which Lambert cited the opinions of Josh Owens and Dan Miller, the two varsity basketball coaches. Both stated to him that two or three air purifiers would tackle the issue and also be easily installed.
Sonny O’Neil, board member, inquired if the proposal is “in lieu of us ever building a fieldhouse.” Lambert replied that issue “has been under discussion for a lot of years” and shared the numbers, $20,000 to pay an architect and $1.3 million, at current costs, to construct the structure.
“I don’t see that ever happening,” shared Lambert.
