What for years was a crowded mass of teenage humanity squeezing its way through the tiny halls of Lake Central High School in Saint John, appeared to be a well-oiled machine on Friday, as the school's 3,000 students headed out the doors at the end of the day.
It's a new year and new digs for students and teachers, who tested the opening this week of Phase I of a $120 million project to update the aging building that opened in 1967. Phase I included a new three-story academic wing, plus a new state-of-the-art swimming pool. The project was given a green light by referendum vote in 2011, Superintendent Larry Veracco said. That referendum included another $40 million to fund a new Protsman Elementary School in Dyer, which is 90 percent complete. That facility opened on Thursday, like the high school.
The impetus for the high school project was that it was, "A 50-year-old building built for 1,200 kids that we had 3,000 in," Veracco said.
What remains is the original field house, cafeteria and a freshman center which opened in 1993.
The new swimming pool is 50 percent larger than the old pool, which will be demolished, along with old classrooms and offices, after asbestos abatement takes place. Then demolition of part of the old school is slated for March.
"Then we'll continue with an auditorium and a wrestling room, competitive gym, media center and administrative offices," Veracco said. "We're about halfway through the project. The last piece of the puzzle will be renovating the current band and choir area, so that we can move our central office activities into the south end of the facility and tear down the current 100-year-old farmhouse we operate out of."
All student facilities should be finished for the start of the 2015 school year, Veracco said, adding that the projected completion of the entire project is December, 2015. The project is being done by architectural firm Schmidt Associates, Indianapolis, which has designed smaller jobs for Lake Central for years, and a joint venture construction management team of Turner Construction, Chicago and Powers and Sons, Gary.
As he oversaw his students Friday afternoon, auto shop teacher Dennis Brannock said he's gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and parents alike on his new facilities. Brannock said he'd put his classroom shop up against any professional auto shop.
"We place the kids in jobs while they're in school and in dealerships when they get out," Brannock said. "A lot of them go on to open their own shops. It's good for the school; good for the community. The way I look at it you train them, you send them out, they get a job, they open a place, they put more tax money back into the corporation."
As his students printed out a huge photographic portrait image, graphic imaging and communications teacher, Jeremy Rainwater said his new classroom and upgraded technology will enable his students to get even better jobs.
"I often have people contact me from marketing, screenprinting and lithography places and ask about employment opportunities for the kids,' Rainwater said. "Now we're hoping to start placing some kids on the digital side of the world."
"They were working on quite a bit of antiquated equipment, so now they're working on equipment that's current to the industry and it's the same in the machine shop," Veracco said
Down the hall in machine shop, senior Hunter Ernst worked on the new equipment.
"I love it. I think it's great," he said. "It's so much better than our old shop."
Behind Hunter sat one of the largest milling machines in the state - a Haas computerized numerical control milling machine.
"This is what everybody's doing in industry," Machine shop teacher Terry Richardson said.
Veracco said Lake Central's original theater will see its last curtain call next month.
"While we evacuate the rest of the old building and do asbestos abatement in the end of January and early February we're able to sort of block off the theater, because it's right at the edge of what we're going to demolish, and they're going to be able to do their last musical at the end of February," Veracco said. "As soon as that takes place we'll be done using it."
When construction is complete the building will be 875,000 square feet, Veracco said. Demographic studies, show student numbers will not grow over the next decade, Veracco said, but the finished product at both schools was planned for industry-recommended 10 percent growth.
"We've got graduating classes of 800 and incoming classes of 650," said Veracco, a result of neighborhoods formerly loaded with kids that are now filled with retirees.
"We've got some empty nesters, and that's good, because it's indicative of being a good place to live," Veracco said. "Until it turns over we won't see growth again in the district. In the school business dollars follow kids. You hate to see your student population slow down. If anything you'd like to see it grow, but you definitely want to see it stay the same. We have to be prepared to meet challenges of less revenue through the state without cutting programming."