Incoming sophomores and upperclassmen feel apprehensive about the construction beginning in early April this year.
According to several art teachers and administrators, the referendum will not change much to the building outside of those classes held in the parts being renovated. Those classes will be relocated to mobile classrooms.
The mobile classrooms will be located on the north side of the building, outside the N17 entrance. These classrooms will be referred to as the North Annex according to Principle Denise Dubravec.
“It’s funny to say but the temporary spaces will have more square footage, higher internet/Intranet speed, air conditioning, proper climate control and have exhaust, ventilation, and vacuum systems that are up to code,” stated Head of Department of Applied Arts, Jason Boumstein.
The classes from the T-wing that will be placed in the mobile classrooms are Wood and Metal Design, Furniture Making and Design, Architecture, Introduction to Engineering Design (Project Lead the Way), CAD Lab, Drawing and Painting, Ceramics, AP Art and Sculpture.
“Glass Art will be relocated in the existing building,” said Principal Dubravec, as well as the automotive classes that “will use G009 as a classroom. When they work on vehicles they will use a garage space in the existing building off the northeast side of the campus.”
The book store will relocate to the scrounge where the Girls Club room used to be, according to store manager Khrysstopher Holland. “I think this will be a little more accessible, and overall a little bit of a bigger space for the store. The T-wing is always a pain to get to, yet everyone knows where the scrounge is,” said Holland.
The Glass art teacher, Monique Boyd, said that “we [the glass art class] will have to put some things into long term storage, but we’re lucky we won’t have to miss a beat.”
Dubravec said she is looking forward to the many benefits of this major project. “The building will have 26 new core academic classrooms for subjects like English, math, social studies, languages, and business. We will also add three new science labs, since lab space is currently over-scheduled,” she said. These changes open up a lot more opportunities for teachers and students to have the space to work on things that weren’t necessarily an option before, she said.
According to Dubravec, the Applied Arts program will also get new engineering and technology labs, and the Music, Theatre, and Art programs will have new spaces that better suit students’ needs.
There are bonuses to the construction. “The project will make the whole campus accessible for students, staff, and visitors with disabilities – something that is a huge challenge in the current buildings,” explained Dubravec.
The project schedule is designed so that students and staff can move into the new Cafeteria, new Library, and some new classrooms after the first year of construction.