On Oct. 11, Taft Middle School’s east dome was shut down due to structural issues found with supporting beams, later other complications arose in the west dome closing over 30% of Taft’s floorspace. In addition to Taft, Harding has closed both of their domes.

The beams are made of wood that runs along the outside of the domes but after 58 years of being outside, the beams have noticeable rot and are unable to support the weight.

Taft’s east dome was closed after meetings with administration and the Educational Leadership and Support Center (ELSC), the west dome and both of Harding’s were closed. Initially, only the cafeteria, band and vocal classes were affected but after both were closed, PE classes were also impacted.

“The band is currently in the foyer, vocal in the back of the building and orchestra is in the back of the building with an additional room for storage,” Hatfield said. “That’s a lot of relocation and one of the biggest things we have to think about is sound.”

Architects and structural engineers plan to fix the problem by building support inside the dome that goes from the floor to the top, but there isn’t an exact date when the domes will be stable again.

“We are probably looking at being back around February,” Taft Principal Gary Hatfield said.

Both students and teachers were affected by this change.

“Know that moving from one classroom to the next and adapting where we are, it’s not always easy, it’s not easy for the kids, it’s not easy for the other adults in the building,” vocal teacher, Victoria Cichoski said. “We are trying to do this as quickly as possible.”

Students are currently served lunch in the student lounge, a small area in the academic wing.

“It’s weird, classes have changed a lot but it got really easy,” eighth grader Tyler Meaney said. “Lunch is weird because it’s tight in the link.”

Having lunch in a different setting means quicker cleanup for students and adults after each lunch so there is no mess on hallway floors.

“The kids are handling it well, they did not like eating in the classrooms very well, and what I told them is this is short term, we had to come up with a plan overnight and the easiest thing to do is eat in the classrooms,” Hatfield said. “But I understand they wanna eat together so we quickly developed a plan where they could.”

Although staff and students had to make adjustments, Taft will work to create a positive learning environment for their students.

“What wasn’t a challenge was getting people to cooperate, parents were super cooperative and understanding, staff has been great, kids have been great,” Hatfield said. “Everyone’s been working as a team, and that’s important and that makes things easier.”