Under Construction
By: Aleks Stacy
Since the beginning of 2023, the high school gymnasium, the band room, the choir room, and the locker rooms have been torn apart and remodeled. While construction projects are very helpful, they do take time to get done and can cause disruptions in education.
Most recently, construction on the gymnasium has just now been completed after months of hard work. Superintendent Karen Shuman had to make decisions on who to hire and how much to pay them, but they also had to deal with all the quirks that popped up from time to time.
“Pausing the gym remodel to house graduation in May changed the timeline of the project and created some unforeseen repairs to doors and floors. Supply chain issues of furniture, cabinets, lockers have been a frustration…probably should have ordered it all in March instead of May. Paying attention to the details was important, and we still missed some so making those corrections also impacted the timeline,” said superintendent Mrs. Shuman.
Although not all of the delay and problems came from the issues with school events. Sometimes these delays came from hiring crews or dealing with contractors.
“Our original architect left SITELOGIC which required the new architect, site supervisor and job superintendent to be on a quick learning path. Keeping them well informed was very time consuming but they did get up to speed very quickly,” said Mrs. Shuman.
These pile ups led to a delay in the use of the facilities for fall sports teams and PE classes. This delay in the gymnasium required the teams that used the gym to change in the restroom and practice in the middle school.
“We had to shift practices and games,” said athletic director Mr. Zehner. “The Volleyball team was very flexible, and I appreciate that greatly. We had to move the first 2 home games to the middle school gym. Our first game we could host was on 8-29-23 vs Winamac. I will say it is all worth it now that it is completed. I am glad we can offer all of our athletes first class facilities.”
While the gymnasium took the longest to complete, there were other big projects that weren’t delayed, and students are soaking up the benefits of the band and choir rooms complete remodel.
“The new band room has made the life of the band, especially percussion, much easier. The flat floors allow percussion to move around, position drums easily, and overall have more space to work and breathe. Also, the new carpet helps reduce echoes and isolate our sound, allowing our tones to be purer. Lastly, the increased storage space keeps the band nice and organized; therefore allowing quicker and easier setups and an all around smoother, better time,” said senior Neomiah Haschel.
