By Joseph Edgerton
Staff Writer

"Regardless of the situation," said Phyllis Irzyk, "I tell the kids: Believe in what you do, and do the best job that you can with what you.ve got."

Irzyk is the director of the Armand Dupont School's Physical Education and Athletics Department. As a former student at the school, she has a desire to serve regardless of overcrowding, and it is this spirit that keeps the school afloat.

IF YOU CAN't STAND THE HEAT - Phyllis Irzyk, once a student at Armand Dupont School, now works in an office converted from a closet. Heating pipes to the school run through the space, keeping it quite warm. (Joseph Edgerton Photo)

While the long-term goal of refurbishing Allenstown's school buildings has had to be put off, school officials are ready to begin making repairs they can't put off.

The town is planning to redo the floor on six classrooms during the summer, as well as begin studying how to convince residents more work must be done.

Current conditions
Irzyk's office is located in what used to be a coat closet. She shares the cramped space with an assortment of athletic equipment. Hot water pipes, not thermostats, regulate the temperature.

"During the winter," she said. "I'd say it stays a steady 95 degrees in here."

The demand for space has affected other regions of the school as well. One set of classrooms is located in a converted two-level garage, and the cafeteria is where a bowling alley used to be.

The situation is not that uncommon, according to Allenstown Superintendent of Schools Thomas Haley.

"We purchased the school from the parish in the 1980s," he said. "It's landlocked, so it's pretty tough to expand the building."

Haley pointed out the parking lot, a stretch of pavement bordered by the Armand Dupont School and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

"We share the parking lot with the church," said Haley. "We use it during the week and they use it for weekend services."

Classes in a trailer
The Dupont School is home to grades 5 through 8, and nearly 240 children study there. Some learn from teachers who, lacking permanent classrooms, push the items needed to teach their classes around on carts. The problem facing the Allenstown school system is fairly simple, according to Haley.

"Any way you look at it," said Haley, "each school just doesn't have enough space for a grade's worth of kids."

At Dupont, the temporary solution is a modular building similar to a trailer that functions as two classrooms for the fifth grade. It was installed last summer.

"I'd estimate that 50 people could be in the trailer at once, maximum," said Haley.

The need to convince voters
For years, there has been focus on the overcrowding at both the Dupont School and Allenstown Elementary School. Each year the talk of money for refurbishing the schools comes up, it is voted down.

In previous months, the cost of repairs were estimated to be nearly $3.5 million between the two schools.

Irzyk said if residents aren't going to vote for refurbishing, they need to vote for better repairs.

"The addition doesn't seem to be going through, and right now we have band-aid fixes." she said. "If we won't get the new facility, we're going to need better quality repairs."

Tom Irzyk, no relation to Phyllis Irzyk, is on the Allenstown School Board, and said overcrowding at Allenstown Elementary School is becoming more of a problem.

"We can't provide the services to these students that we want to," he said.

"The need for services among students has expanded, and it isn't just a math calculation," said Haley. "It's not as easy as figuring out the ratio of square feet to kids."

What needs fixing
According to Irzyk, one of the goals of the board is to get the fifth-graders back to Allenstown Elementary School. Irzyk said the set-up at Dupont is not conducive to their education.

Haley said other school board goals include adding parking spaces at Elementary School, refurbishing its cafeteria - which currently prepares food for nearly 675 students - and removing asbestos.

"All of the asbestos has been abated in the school, except for the floor tiles," he said. "They have been carpeted for 15 or 16 years and the carpets are long past their usefulness."

Phyllis Irzyk has some ideas for long-term options.

"I think we need some sort of longevity plan, because the pocketbook is what seems to stop people," she said. "We ought to be able to rotate our needs between the police, the fire department and the schools. We also need to get the voters out. It's frustrating when efforts to fix our schools fail by six or seven votes."

Help wanted
The Allenstown School Board is seeking interested citizens of the community to serve on an advisory committee to study future facility needs in the Allenstown School District.

Those interested may contact School Board Chairman Tom Irzyk at 485-7154 or Superintendent Tom Haley at 485- 5187.