The Hot Gym

My first day as superintendent of Britton-Macon was November 4, 1991.  I had been hired at the October 14th Board of Education meeting, but November 4th was my first day on the job.

My appointment was on the October agenda so Ruth and I attended the meeting. I had been in the district for my two interviews, a walk through of the building with the business manager, and a couple of “drives around the district”. It was a farming community with a proud history. The October meeting was my first full blown look at how the board operated.

The Tuesday morning after I was hired, I met with the acting superintendent.  Curtis had a long history of service in the State, retired from the River Rouge School District,  and did interim work from time to time following his retirement.  We met in his office and his first question was, “What did you think of last night’s meeting?”

“I thought everything went well but the meeting was a bit long.  I didn’t understand Joe (a board member) when he directed the maintenance supervisor to pull out the window in the gym, and place a huge exhaust fan in its place.  That’s not his role.  If we did follow his plan, we’d just be blowing hot air out of the building.  The gym may be cooler but the underlying problem would remain.”

Curtis agreed.  “You’re correct.  I spoke with him after the meeting.  I’m going to have a company come in to take a look at the system and propose a solution.  The gym here is very hot, especially on game nights when we have a full crowd.  I hope that they can propose a solution before the basketball season begins.”

I consulted with Curtis once a week while I waited to be released from my Addison contract.  During one of our meetings I learned that a mechanical contractor had come in and was preparing a plan to present to the board.  “It should be ready for your meeting  in November.  They should meet with you a few days prior.”

They didn’t.  The first time I heard the results of the inspection and their recommendation was at the November board meeting.  The company president was on the agenda.  He outlined a preliminary plan to address the issue.  He told us that the system was outdated and improperly piped.  It was hot water heat and it was “running wild”.

“You have several valves and circulating pumps that need to be replaced, the thermostats are shot and can’t communicate with the main boiler, your whatchamacallit is stuck, and they don’t make your thingamajigs any longer.  They will all have to be updated.  One of the biggest issues is the lack of air circulation.   There is no movement.  We can abandon everything that is in place and re-pipe the gymnasium system.  That would probably be the most cost effective approach.”

It sounded expensive to me.  After the presentation one of the board members asked how much this would cost.  “We’ll have to put together a comprehensive engineering  plan, but, including documentation, I would estimate something around $100,000 – $150,000.”  I was right.

I told him that I would be in touch if we decided to move forward with his recommendation.  I had a friend, Mike,  that was starting his own business and he was scheduled to take a look at the system later in the week.  He had years of experience working in the field and was the foreman on countless commercial installations throughout southeast Michigan.  His greatest attribute was I trusted him.

Mike arrived late in the day a couple of days after the board meeting.  He wanted access to everything after the students were excused for the day.  I explained what the contractor had reported to the board.  I was familiar with whatchamacallits and thingamajigs but knew nothing of valves, pumps, and thermostats.

“The gym gets too hot.  I need you to give me some advice.”

Mike conducted his inspection, and a couple of hours later, came back with his report. “You have a bad thermostat but that’s easily replaced.  The biggest problem is air circulation.  The vents are blocked with saw dust.  It’s three to four inches thick so there is no movement at all.”

“Sawdust?”

“Did you have your gym floor refinished?  That would explain the dust.  The vents have not been cleaned for several years.”

I’d only been on the job for a couple of weeks, so I didn’t know.  I told Mike that I’d have to look into it.  And then Mike said, “In the interim you can just turn off the valve that controls the hot water flow into the gym.  You won’t have any heat at all.”

I asked Mike to point out the valve and the dirty vents to our maintenance man.  “Send me a bill.  Once I get the vents cleaned I’ll have you come back to replace the thermostat.”

The following day I asked a few questions and found out that the gym floor had been resurfaced “a few years ago”.  That explained at least a part of the saw dust issue.

We had an evening  event coming up in a couple of weeks so I directed the staff to clean the vents and “turn off the heat” before the event.  We did a practice run a couple of days prior, and the gym was not only cooler, it got cold.

I sent periodic updates to the board members so I told them, “If you are coming to the gym on Friday night, bundle up, because it’s going to be cold.  I think I have our hot gym problem solved.”

I followed my own advice.  I wore a t-shirt, a dress shirt, a sweater, and a sports coat.  I was very comfortable.  Members of the community who wore only a t-shirt, as they had for several years, shivered in their seats.

Mike came back the following week, replaced the broken thermostat, and gave me in invoice for $250.00.  “That’s it?”

“I gave you my friends and family discount.”  Problem solved.

The district held graduation in the gym and after the spring ceremony a mom who had four children go through the system approached me.  “Rob is our last child to graduate from Britton.  I want to thank you for coming here.  No matter how long you stay, no matter what else you may accomplish,  you’ll always be known as the man who solved the hot gym problem.”