More construction disruption ahead at Park

Talk about it

The good news for Park High School staff members and students is that the new entrance is expected to be finished by next fall, Assistant Principal Rob Bach told those who attended a parents meeting, Nov. 17.

The not-so-good news is that installation of the new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system will disrupt hallways and classrooms starting next week, he said, and work will continue into next year.

Parents gathered in the media center to hear an update on construction and what their students can expect this year.

“Students have really done well,” Bach said. “They are rolling with the punches.”

The first area to be displaced will be the west hallway where School Within a School, a program for struggling students, is housed.

Students will be moved to a temporary classroom area in the Activity Center.

Each section of rooms is expected to be disturbed for about eight weeks. There will be temporary lighting in the hall because ceiling tile must be removed for the installation.

“It will look like a war zone,” Bach said.

Business classrooms will be done over the holiday break.

The choir room and the room housing Air Force Jr. ROTC will be done after the first of the year. The choir will move to the auditorium and ROTC will move to the temporary area.

There is some concern about choir being in the same space as preparation for one-act play competition by the drama department, he said, but most practices are after school.

At the end of the winter sports season, construction will move to the gym area. There is some concern that gym construction might not be finished by the All-Night Party for seniors after graduation.

One area that will remain quiet are math classrooms.

Principal Efe Agbamu put her foot down when it came to disrupting those classrooms after the first of the year, Bach said.

Students need to be free of distractions, Agbamu said, because they will be preparing for the spring Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment II math test. Eleventh-grade students will be required to pass the test to graduate in 2010.

The graduation ceremony, traditionally held on Friday night after the last week of school, is being moved to 7 p.m., Saturday, June 7, but it has nothing to do with construction, Agbamu said.

The school year does not end until Friday, June 6, she said, leaving no time to practice.

Judy Spooner can be reached at editor@swcbulletin.com.

Tags: park_high_school, cottagegrove, construction