The Santa Barbara Unified School District is debating whether to replace all the windows on the Santa Barbara High School campus or restore them. The district has been looking to see how much money it will take to proceed with the project, and came up with an estimate of around $1.26 Million dollars to replace all of the windows. But even then, it’s also going to cost more because they are going to have to replace the wooden window frames too and make sure they can match the way they were before. While they have contacted and talked to architects who have experience working with historical buildings and a private contractor that specializes in the restoration of historical objects, they have gotten responses from all saying that replacing them will be more cost-effective than restoring them. 

Some of the windows in question at Santa Barbara High School are really old, and the paint is falling off of them. Some of the windows can’t even open or close anymore.  Replacing the windows would also make the ventilation in the rooms more flexible with different types of weather and the windows would be able to actually block out sound., Furthermore, a student at Santa Barbara High School recounted how, one time in math class, their teacher was trying to open a window when the whole window fell off the second story down to the ground because of how old it was. It’s not the first time this has happened and after interviewing some students, many of them also think that the windows should be repaired and renewed. Currently, the window repairs are on pause until further assessments are available according to Fred Razo, the facilitator of the school.

[Image Credits: Noozhawk, Santa Barbara News Press]