The following interview with High School South principal Charles Rudnick took place Friday, December 16, and was conducted by Linda Dean, a resident of West Windsor and currently a substitute teacher at South.##M:[more]##
Question: High School South was built in 1973. Looking at the school 30 years later, what did the architects not consider at the time South was built?
Rudnick: The easiest answer to that question is student population. It was built for a functional capacity of 1,”300 students and right now we have 1,”600 students. The design of the building was all the rave back then in the ’70s when several open classroom schools were being built, but no one could have predicted the population growth.
Why is it important that South receive a new auditorium?
Lots of reasons. A new auditorium will allow students to perform together in the building. Currently, our orchestra of 192 students cannot fit together on the same stage. We actually have to go to other locations to have performances. More important, and where the major expense will go, are the new music practice rooms. Right now the students are practicing in old offices and hallways and if you look at the plans, the current art rooms — the old metal and woodshop rooms will become vocal and instrumental practice rooms.
What renovations will be made to the current gymnasium?
No renovations will be made to the current gym. However the addition of another gym is very important. Currently, I am limited in the amount of areas where I can put PE classes. Every PE class turns into a health class and right now we have 35-40 students in these health classes. With the addition of a new gym and weight room, we can create more classes, thereby reducing the number of students in each class.
What improvements will be made to the music department? Art department?
As I said earlier, the music practice rooms are very important. The art classes are currently in the old wood and metal shops and you have to go through one class to get to the other, which is not conducive to education. The current music rooms will be created to make new art rooms. It is important to note that the staff of the music and art departments had a lot of input to what actually was needed in these areas.
Will the open space classrooms be closed off?
Funny you should ask that — lots of people ask that. The answer is absolutely not. For several reasons: One, it would be exceedingly expensive. Not so much the walls, but redoing the air conditioning and electrical systems.
Secondly, we really believe we have no reason to close the classrooms. A lot of people have a perception or idea of what open space is really like. An example is at back-to-school night. It is crazy here — all the parents come and they are moving around and it is very noisy. That is not the normal for the day. The students and staff are focused in their own class and the school is quiet. It is really wonderful to see how it works.
Closing the classrooms is not necessary. However, if the referendum passes, we will be adding more and better quality partitions to help with sight and sound and to create somewhat of a “cubicle city.”
What do you say to residents who feel the referendum puts too much emphasis on improvements at South?
That’s a good question. I really believe we are getting the majority of the money because we need it most — no doubt about it. To those residents that say there is nothing it in for me because my children don’t go there, I respectfully disagree. This is the school community of West Windsor-Plainsboro. A lot of the property values of the houses here are directly related to the schools. If we don’t continually improve all the schools, it is going to affect everyone’s value of their house, whether or not they have a child in a particular school
What would happen to future improvements at South if the referendum does not pass?
There would not be any. Only small things would get done and we need some major renovations. Quite honestly, it is now or never.
Regarding Question Two — the synthetic turf athletic fields. Why is this important and what are advantages of this playing surface?
One — safety issues at both the high schools. Right now the current fields are natural grass fields. Kids play on them from the middle of August to November and then again from March to June. The grass does not have opportunity to grow properly and you can’t rest a football field. We attempt to rest other fields, but you really can’t do that. It creates a situation where the fields are OK, but not safe.
The synthetic turf field, which is really state of the art, will give us the opportunity to have a field that will drain in 10 to 15 minutes after a rainfall. It will also be used as another teaching station. I’ll be able to put PE out there when the classes are outside without worrying that the classes will mess up the fields for the football game. It is really important that people realize the fields will used for the PE classes as well.
Will the turf fields be available for community use?
Absolutely. Everything we do, in fact both the theater and the gym are available for the community when they are not in use by the school. I can envision the recreational and travel soccer teams using the fields, especially on Sundays. Definitely, this is a community effort — it is not just for the schools.
For further information visit www.west-windsor-plainsboro.k12.nj.us/referendum2006.html
