Sprinkler head breaks during gym drill; district plans repairs and main-gym resurfacing recommendation

At the March 3 Buildings & Grounds Committee meeting, Mr. Lord described a Feb. 12 incident in the Germantown High School main gym in which a student’s throwing drill dislodged a fire-suppression sprinkler head and released pressurized water onto the floor. "The sprinkler head broke off from the discharge pipe, thus releasing the pressurized water downward onto the main gym floor," Mr. Lord said. Staff isolated the valve, cleaned the floor, used air movers overnight, replaced the broken head and restored the suppression system the following morning.

Mr. Lord said there is not expected to be permanent damage to the wood floor. He estimated the immediate response and cleanup took roughly 20–25 minutes. A representative from Blair (contractor) helped during isolation and valving, and staff obtained a contractor quote of about $5,500 to turn heads upward and add stronger cages to reduce future damage from balls.

Separately under new business, staff proposed sanding the GHS main gym to bare wood, repainting game lines and the Warhawk logo, sealing and finishing the floor, and replacing perimeter VCT with LVT. The district solicited proposals from four contractors; staff asked that the project be forwarded to the finance committee for bid award. On a motion by Voyer, seconded by Forst, the committee voted to give a positive recommendation to the finance committee; one committee member recorded opposition but the motion carried.

Committee members asked for care in repainting the Warhawk logo—citing a prior repaint that had to be redone after the wrong color was applied during a referendum-era job—and for clear paint codes and communications to go with the bid package. Staff said they will provide paint codes and coordinate with the communications manager to ensure color accuracy.