The Lincoln Log

The bungalows at Lincoln High School have leaking ceilings, rusted panels, and broken appliances. Most students at Lincoln have at least one class in a bungalow, and more than likely, that bungalow is falling apart.

The most damaged bungalow is Bungalow 28, located near the South Gym. For the past twelve years, teacher William Ferree has occupied it. Ferree teaches career education and history in his bungalow. Bungalow 28 was built around the end of World War II and was the first bungalow built here at Lincoln over 50 years ago.

“I would like to have more modern conveniences but I feel this bungalow is unique, it’s kind of like home to me now,” Ferree said. “Even though it’s falling apart, I don’t think the students mind it too much.”

The bungalow’s exterior is rusted down, the air conditioner is broken, the ceiling has holes, and the roof is falling apart. Ferree was able to purchase a portable fan for his students, which will come in handy when it gets hot. The only thing that works is the heater, which is over 20 years old, but still does its job. When it becomes windy or when it rains, a substance called stucco that’s supposed to seal the bungalows falls down from the roof. Ferree then has to sweep up the stucco off the floor so his bungalow doesn’t look as messy. The last time the roof was finished was 8 years ago, but it is quickly falling apart again.

Efforts have been made in recent years to replace Bungalow 28, but if they replaced it, they wouldn’t be able to put a new bungalow there because it would break the fire code.

Budget cuts to the school have affected bungalow repair, and that is the major reason why the bungalows continue to deteriorate.

Other bungalows, such as history teacher Calvin Chan’s Bungalow 7, also need repairs. The ceiling is leaking, the heater and air conditioner are broken, and the panels are rusted. The rugs in the bungalow have not been replaced in years and it also has not been cleaned. Student vandalism is all over the walls, and the wallpaper is falling off, partly because of the students.

“Even though funding is low, some things like the heater, air conditioner, and leaking ceilings must be fixed for the benefit of the students,” Chan said.

All of the bungalows are equipped with heaters but not all of them work. When it becomes cold in the morning, a heater would come in handy to help the freezing students cope. The bungalows also become very hot when heat waves come along and working air conditioners would be nice.

“I feel that every bungalow should have a working heater and air conditioner so the students are as comfortable as possible,” junior Remington Loo said.

Student and faculty parking used to occupy the area where most of the bungalows are now. The bungalows are actually SFUSD property so if anything serious happened to one of the bungalows, the district would handle it.

Some minor repairs have been done to the bungalows but serious problems such as leaking ceilings aren’t going to be dealt with anytime soon.

When Proposition A passed two years ago, Lincoln was promised a new wing which would be placed from the breezeway, all the way to 22nd Avenue. But Lincoln students shouldn’t be looking forward to a new wing anytime soon because the actual building of the supposed new wing has not started yet. So Lincoln students are going to have to live with what they have until serious discussions are done to get Lincoln new bungalows.