June 13, 2023 – Decatur Public Schools leadership has officially declared both Dennis Lab School campuses structurally unsound and unfit for students and faculty to return in the fall, following the closure of both buildings at the end of May.
“I’m taken back a little—a lot, actually,” said Dr. Rochelle Clark, DPS 61’s Superintendent, at a press conference Tuesday morning. “When we initially wanted to go in to assist, we didn’t think we would be here today, but my priority is safety and that’s all I can think about at this point in time.”
Last August, DPS 61’s board voted not to allocate state-awarded funding toward building a new Dennis campus to replace both aging buildings after community members voiced their concerns. The grant was instead directed toward improving the existing American Dreamer STEM Academy, but new structural inspections of the Dennis buildings show they are not fit for students and teachers to learn or teach at in the fall.
“One of the things that my team and I currently do is meet with our staff on a regular basis—Dennis being one of them—and they had some concerns about some of the things that they had seen,” Clark said.
DPS leadership continued to meet with Dennis staff after the funding was given elsewhere to discuss improvements to existing facilities, including seeking architectural evaluations. Philip Holthaus, a Champaign-based structural engineer, first assessed the buildings on May 30 and alerted district leadership that structural concerns could exist, prompting the district to seek a second opinion from Quincy-based Klinger & Associates.
According to Klinger & Associates’ report, access below, above and adjacent to the Mosaic campus’s main staircase—which services all floors in the original and added-on portions of the building—should be fully restricted. Photos contained in the evaluation show support columns with cracks and gaps, out-of-level stair landings and failed previous repair attempts. Because of the damage’s extent, the inspection was limited only to the north main-entrance stair area. The report did not discuss any additional areas of the building.
At the Kaleidoscope campus—originally French Academy—inspection was limited to the exterior of the building. Parapets and the east wall have sustained water damage affecting drywall and ceiling tiles inside the building, causing walls that are “leaning outward and bowing outward in multiple locations.” Based on their findings, Klinger & Associates recommended demolishing and rebuilding the top of the east wall and parapet, among other repairs, and said in their report the district should restrict any access to spaces above, below or adjacent to the building’s east wall.
Clark said students and faculty will not be allowed to return to either campus for the 2023-2024 school year. However, it is unclear where over 500 students will learn next year.
“We’re looking at our current buildings to see who can house them and give them the best educational support in the upcoming year,” Clark said. “We’re doing our best to keep them all together. That’s the goal—not to have them scattered throughout the district.”
In a release, the district said they hope to have a “solid recommendation” of where to temporarily place Dennis students for the school board to approve at their June 27 meeting. At this time, Clark said there are no concrete plans for where the Dennis community will be housed beyond the upcoming school year.
“Right now, what we’re trying to do is find a facility that can hold all of our students and staff,” Clark said. “Once we get them placed, we’ll start looking at a long-term solution.”
Because of the buildings’ conditions, faculty will not be allowed back inside to retrieve belongings left in their classrooms. Clark said the district will “work with the necessary people” to secure teachers’ personal property and remove district technology.
Dennis families should visit the DPS website for a detailed timeline of damage assessment, access to the full structural reports and an FAQ section detailing the next steps. Click HERE to access the page and for more information.
