‘Mold, rot...rats and cats’; Lafayette High School needs a new building, parents insist

Eighty-six-year-old Lexington’s Lafayette High School is unsafe for students and should be replaced, not just renovated, parents and staff at a Monday forum told a committee prioritizing future Fayette school projects.

“This place is falling apart,” said parent Joy Clevenger. “Replacing ceiling tiles and HVAC systems, that is not going to remediate the mold, the rot, the damp.”

“We know that the hallways are the narrowest and most dangerous in the district,” she said. “This is not a safe building. We’ve seen rats and cats going in and out of the basement. This building is gross. You need to do more.”

“Lafayette is an old school, and we are reminded of that on a daily basis by quirks and failures in systems throughout the building, quirks that compromise learning in the building,” said Lafayette Principal Anthony Orr.

Parents and staff were at a forum Monday night held by the school board’s Local Planning Committee that develops and oversees the District Facility Plan. The plan prioritizes such projects as school construction and renovation.

The Fayette school board votes on the final decisions.

Orr and parents said the proposed $72 million-plus renovation of Lafayette on the proposed plan, which they described as a “Band-Aid” won’t be enough.

“It’s time you provide a facility that is adequate for a safe, secure, 21st-century learning environment,” Orr said.

Lafayette High School is high performing academically -- most recently receiving a green rating in the state’s accountability system, which is next to the highest possible rating.

It is also home to the district’s high school for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) gifted and talented program and the district’s pre-engineering program. Based on 2019 data, the capacity for the building is about 1,500.

The enrollment projection for next year is 2,377.

The school building was renovated in 1998, according to the school district website.

“Lafayette needs to be rebuilt, not remodeled,” said parent Karen Walker. She said the HVAC is so problematic that kids are sweating in the morning and freezing in the afternoon.

Plumbing problems mean students deal with “grotesque smells” daily and many avoid going to the bathroom all day, Walker said. Ceilings are leaking, and classroom sizes are inadequate, she said.

Parent Ben Allen said the facilities were “outdated and unsafe.” He asked that Lafayette be rebuilt as a state-of-the art facility and not just renovated.

“A simple renovation is not going to fix these problems,” Allen said.

Also at the forum, principals of Maxwell Spanish Immersion Elementary and the School for Creative and Performing Arts, grades 4-8, which is in a separate building from Lafayette High School, advocated for construction to move ahead on new school buildings that are currently on the plan.

Projects can be on the plan for years before coming to fruition.

Kevin Payne, principal of Southern Middle School, asked that a renovation of that school move forward.

Community members Richard Gaines and Danny Anthony Everett asked for construction to begin on a new George Washington Carver STEM Elementary School for Boys, which is in the plan.

There will be another public forum on the plan next month, district officials said. No date was announced.

This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 2:55 PM.