Patrick Henry High School's aging building is such a part of daily life for students that this year's valedictorian, Anna Pecht, joked about leaky roofs in her graduation speech.

But the community around the western Hanover County school isn't laughing.

For years, some say, students and staff have dealt with leaks in the roof, soaked ceiling tiles and questionable air conditioning in many classrooms. Others wonder if the leaks have led to mold.

That the school needs fixing "is definitely the understatement of the year," said recent graduate Liz Earnest.

She remembered changing classes and "all of the traffic splits in half because there's a giant trash can in the middle of the hallway to collect the water."

She said during the last few days school, she and her classmates painted the ceiling tiles in one of her classes to cover up the water spots that were "creeping all over the place."

Hanover schools spokeswoman Dale Theakston said an unfortunate reality about old schools with flat roofs is that they sometimes leak, but "it's an issue that is not taken lightly."

Patrick Henry and Lee-Davis high schools were built in 1959 as campus-style schools that were later enclosed. Both have undergone 12 additions or renovations.

"We believe we're being responsive" to Patrick Henry's issues, Theakston said.

Since 2003, more than $1.5 million has been spent on maintenance and facilities improvements, everything from new lights for the football field and asbestos removal in the school's greenhouse to a gym floor replacement and track resurfacing.

The school is in the second year of a three-year roof-replacement project, and more roof repairs are scheduled for 2011. Some parts of the school are getting heating and air-conditioning upgrades this summer, and more will be updated next summer.

Theakston said the school division's lull in enrollment for the foreseeable future means no new schools are planned, so "the focus is going to be on some significant renovations to the older schools."

The next major renovation for Patrick Henry is scheduled for 2010-11 when school officials have planned career and technical-education upgrades for it and Atlee High School at a total cost of $8 million.

Some, however, say Patrick Henry has been in disrepair for a long time.

"Schools don't become dilapidated overnight," said Angela Will, a Patrick Henry French and Spanish teacher who took early retirement last year after 24 years at the school because she felt the constant exposure to the damp, stuffy environment worsened her chronic sinus infections.

She recalled one rainy day last year when her students were in the library.

Raindrops were "literally splashing on the computers and bookshelves," she said. "We were afraid [the roof] was going to crash in."

Some say that, unlike Lee-Davis in the eastern part of the county, Patrick Henry has been neglected to the point that it's now a health risk.

"Basic necessities are not even being meet," said parent Richard Mallory. "If a classroom is leaking and tiles have fallen . . . that means it's not a safe environment for learning."

Will said when that it was just Patrick Henry and Lee-Davis years ago, "they were the same."

"But as other schools have been added, nothing has been done . . . to bring them up to speed," she said, and "it's the inequities that hit you in the gut."

Hanover's fourth and newest high school, the $44 million Hanover High that opened in 2003, is loaded with modern features and includes the first basketball gym in the county large enough for state competitions.

School Board member Ann Gladstone, who represents the South Anna District that includes much of Patrick Henry's attendance zone, said school officials are doing the best they can to fix up all of the county's older schools, including Patrick Henry.

"The problem is, it's not the only [old school] we have," she said. She said she has been assured that Patrick Henry's new roof will have as much elevation as possible to help with drainage issues.

"The challenge is to get the older ones up to snuff before the newer ones start to fall apart," she said.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.