Constructing Trailers as Classrooms
By Sara Romaine, Staff Writer

Public schooling facilities in Lenoir, as well as across the country are beginning to find themselves strapped for money and space. Thus arrives a solution: portable trailer classrooms. 

A Portable Classroom Trailer

Finding it difficult to house an overwhelming population of students in their classrooms, many school districts are opting to construct modular classrooms. This option has become increasingly popular, despite how unorthodox it may sound. So, as school boards factor the use of modular trailers for classrooms into their budget strategies, it is good to get a look at the pro’s and con’s of this option.


An extensive Florida study suggested many Pro’s for the construction of such trailers. They are easy to relocate for district flexibility. They are made and delivered in a short period of time. They cost less than a permanent site-built construction. They offer a degree of intimacy and independence for the classes that are held in these areas. Most often, they provide a sense of freedom for the students mentally, as they are accessible through the outdoors. Generally, they are cost effective.


 So, if a district is going through fiscal problems that cannot be overcome by year-round classes, double sessions, re-drawing boundary lines, or building more on-site classes, portables are a good idea.

However, there are some negatives to consider. The con’s of trailer classrooms are the lack of aesthetics, inferior quality of buildings, and the possibility that they may become permanent over time.

These factors are quite negative, although, they are somewhat misperceptions. If a site for the portable classrooms is planned well, the amenities are not downgraded for sake of saving, and the whole thing is thought out well, portable classrooms have proven to be quite effective.

In general they save between 36-77% of the money a district might spend constructing an on-site classroom. They are just as educationally effective as well!

           

"[T]his study has found that the primary advantages of the portable classroom are its ability to provide flexible, suitable short-term accommodation to Florida's student population and its ability to provide that incrementally, in a timely and cost efficient fashion."


With a good design, a good outlook, and a good plan overall for the uses of a portable classroom, it is certainly something worth considering in school districts strapped for cash and overflowing with students.

Cost of a Portable Trailer Classroom