It appears that the Winchester Grade School gym’s days are numbered.
The Winchester school board held an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon and heard the grim details from architect Jamie Cosgriff, and direction from regional school superintendent Jill Reis that the gym is closed until further notice.
Winchester school superintendent Jeff Abell says Cobden High School had a gym almost identical to Winchester’s, and built a few years earlier. He says Cobden lost its gym 3 or 4 years ago for the same reason.
Abell says he has been in contact with Cobden’s superintendent to pick his brain about how the school district responded. Cobden has built a new gym since.
Abell says the exterior walls at the Winchester gym are already bowing under the weight of the roof.
He says the board will await a second opinion, but the writing is on the wall.
Abell says he would be shocked to find that any part of the structure is salvageable.
He says recess and other similar activities have been moved to the cafeteria and library, the basement gym at the high school, and the Pritchett Building. But, he says this will be a lengthy process, and the board needs to find space soon.