Dated infrastructure, cramped classrooms: Why Wichita seeks to rebuild Irving Elementary

Editor’s note: Before voters decide on a $450 million Wichita school bond issue on Feb. 25, The Eagle is profiling many of the schools affected. Read more profiles and find continuing coverage of the bond issue election here.

Like many schools in the Wichita school district, Irving Elementary School is a time capsule of a past era.

Built in 1941, many of the school’s features are now dated, especially as technology advances in the classrooms.

“The original electrical doesn’t hold as much stuff for technology,” Principal Arien Dill said. “Even the HVAC system, sometimes, a motor will trip it.”

Space is limited at the elementary school on 16th Street between Broadway and Market.

Classroom sizes are small, especially for the older grades, and a closet in the nurse’s office doubles as its custodial closet.

Irving’s student body grew substantially this school year — from 300 to 450 — as it took on students from the now closed Park Elementary. With average class sizes between 20 to 25 students now, the classrooms feel cramped.

“We were a two section school, and then went up to three section this year to pull in more, and then are expected to be even higher,” Dill said.

What’s it like inside current Irving Elementary?

There also are issues with ADA accessibility.

The nurses office is so small, it can’t hold students who come in in wheelchairs.

Parts of Irving have two floors, but an elevator can’t be retrofitted into the building. That can be an issue for students and staff.

“We have a staff [member] that uses a cane, and it’s hard for her to get up and down,” Dill said.

Outside, along one-way Market Street, student pickup is a challenge at the end of the school day, Dill said. She hoped the new design of the building would help mitigate this problem.

“Cars are backed up to 13th, and or on Broadway trying to just pick up kids,” Dill said. “It’s dangerous if we’re not paying attention. A lot of parents are impatient.”

One of the bigger questions with rebuilding Irving is how the district would do that without interrupting student learning.

Unlike other schools scheduled to be rebuilt, Irving’s lot is much smaller and surrounded by homes and busy streets.

“Irving would be one where the site is too small, where we definitely have to move the kids during construction,” USD 259 Director of Facilities Luke Newman said.

The district estimates the new building would cost $32.9 million and be completed by the end of 2028.

While future plans for the building haven’t been made public yet, the school’s principal said she wants classroom sizes to be bigger, and for the playground to not be along a busy street like Broadway.

“It’s just not always safe,” she said. “We got this screen because, you know, like, rocks or people walking by … they talk to kids.”

Other schools that would be torn down and rebuilt are Adams, Black, Caldwell and McLean elementary schools and Coleman and Truesdell middle schools.

In addition to rebuilding schools, the district would convert two elementary schools to K-8 schools, consolidate alternative schools and close four elementary schools and two administration centers. It would build new outdoor athletic fields at Northeast Magnet High School, a new Future Ready Center for Trades at East High school and a new early childhood education center.