Board OKs new gym floor at MHS

During its regular meeting this week, the Maryville R-II Board of Education voted to replace the gymnasium floor at Maryville High School.

The 47-year-old floor was installed in 1965, the same year the high school was built.

After almost a half-century of use, the floor is starting to show signs of deterioration. On the south end, the side closest to the stage, several boards are loose and sagging.

MHS principal Jason Eggers said that although the floor gets a new finish every year it has only been sanded twice.

Typically sanding is a way to get some extra life out of a hardwood court, but there is a limit to how many times such floors can be renewed.

Eggers said he is not sure when the floor was last sanded past the paint, but that the large Spoofy Spoofhound head at mid-court offers a clue, since the district has used a stylized "M" as its main logo for a number of years.

Both Eggers and Superintendent Larry Linthacum said the Spoofy image will likely be replaced with the MHS "M" when the new floor is installed.

Otherwise, with the exception of possibly using a slightly lighter shade of wood, the gym will remain relatively unchanged.

"We are thinking about changing the bleachers a bit," Eggers said. "We're considering taking out the front row of benches and replacing them with chairs."

Players would then sit in the chairs instead of on the front row of bleachers, and fans would be able to walk behind the teams in order to get to their seats.

The district received three bids on the floor project. The low bid of $81,700 came from Lankford Enterprises of Bucyrus, Kan., which will receive the contract.

The other two bids were from Acme Floor Co. of Lawrence, Kan., for $93,580 and Jason Brown Roofing, Maryville, for $135,644.

Linthacum said most schools replace gym floors more frequently, and that discussions about the floor at MHS have come up several times over the past five years.

One such discussion took place in 2011-2012, when the board decided to get "one more year" out of it.

"It has been a great floor over all of the years," Linthacum said. "We hope to get at least another 47 years out of this new one."

Another major decision by the board on Wednesday called for the purchase of 18.63 acres of land directly east of the football field at a cost of $180,191.

The lot stretches from the field to the west side of The Hangar cinemaplex, and Linthacum said the district has considered purchasing the parcel for several years.

There are no plans to build on the property at this time, he said.

"We are looking at facility needs down the road," Linthacum said. "It does position us to do upgrades in the future, but as of now, there are no plans to build on it."