By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend school district has been aware that the acoustics are not great inside the middle school and high school band rooms. USD 428 Superintendent Khris Thexton said a lot of the poor acoustics have to do with the tile floor inside both, causing reverberation.
Thexton asked McCownGordon Construction what they could do to help the acoustics.
"Currently we do have some panels on the wall, and those do absorb sound," said Thexton. "They said the next best option would be to use carpet. If that doesn't fix your sound issues, then there are panels you can hang from the ceiling, but that cost is much higher than just starting with the carpet."
The USD 428 Board of Education approved the purchase of JJ Kinetex Textile commercial-grade composite flooring supplies for $19,350.
Asked about what happens when students have to use their spit valves on their instruments with the carpet rather than the tile, Thexton said the idea is to get some version of a spittoon.
"The carpet squares are nice," said Thexton. "They have the rubberized backing on them so that way it doesn't allow it to sink below the carpet itself. It would be able to be pulled up and cleaned. The carpet squares have been good to us."
The carpet installation will take place this summer to replace the floors in the middle school and high school.