Dreams becoming reality as construction takes shape at new BG High School – BG Independent News

Dreams becoming reality as construction takes shape at new BG High School – BG Independent News

By JAN McLAUGHLIN  BG Independent News As the Bowling Green Board of Education toured the new high school Tuesday evening, Norm Geer recalled a prediction made about the building’s design. “One of the architects said, ‘You’re going to have to kick the kids out – they won’t want to go home,’” Geer said. It seemed like hyperbole at the time, but after touring the school, it seemed quite possible, he said. Though just a shell of the 155,000-square-foot building it will be a year from now, the new Bowling Green High School has moved from dreams to brick and mortar.  Project manager Brian Swope answers questions during tour. Before the Board of Education meeting Tuesday, the school board and administration members toured the construction site for the $72.8 million project. The tour was led by Brian Swope, project manager from Rudolph-Libbe, who said the project is on schedule to be completed by June 1, 2027.  “We’re inching ahead on the building envelope,” and starting to build out the interior, Swope said. The tour began at the high school’s main entrance, which faces the current high school. Once inside, those touring entered the “common area,” which features a three-story atrium and “learning stairs.” Tour started in the common area near the school entrance. Heading to the south are three floors of classroom space. Looking to the west are spaces for art, DECA, and agricultural education with an outdoor greenhouse. And to the north will be athletic facilities, plus band and choral classrooms. Swope first took the tour group to the third floor of the classroom wing – dedicated to science courses, labs and technology courses. Unlike the science “labs” in the existing high school, these classrooms are designed as labs, Principal Dan Black said. They will have water and gas running to the stations, and there will be outdoor space for experiments best conducted outside. The second floor of classrooms is designed with flexibility in mind. The English rooms have moveable walls, collaboration space in the wide hallways, and garage doors that open classrooms up into the collaboration space if desired. Tour ends at athletic facilities on north end of the high school. The gymnasium has a seating capacity of 1,750, and features a walking track on the second floor above the gym. The project has 75 to 100 tradespeople on the job each day, Swope said.  This summer, road crews are working to build a turn lane on West Poe Road, in front of the high school. Swope acknowledged navigating the school access is difficult – but it is a short-term issue, he reminded. When the project is completed, the high school-middle school campus will have the same number of parking spaces as before construction, Swope said. The driveway that currently runs between the existing and the new high school will be replaced with walkways to create a campus feeling. There will be vehicle entrances to the complex on the east and the west side of the new high school, with the drive on the west side continuing north of the building. Board members Peggy Thompson and Ryan Myers, and Principal Dan Black check out wing for agricultural education and DECA. Principal Dan Black said he tours the new high school about once a month to check on the progress. “The last time I came through, we didn’t have walls up,” he said. Superintendent Ted Haselman said the high school project helped attract him to the position at BG City Schools. “This was one of the draws coming here,” he said. “The opportunity to build a new school. It’s a lot of work, but it’s extremely rewarding.” School board members Ardy Gonyer and Ryan Myers check out view of current high school from third floor of new school. Board members Ryan Myers and Norm Geer have worked as liaisons between the project and the board, so they have watched the progress on the school. “I’m overjoyed just to see it,” Myers said. “This is the first time I’ve gone through it and it’s felt like a school. It’s more gratifying than ever.” Myers talked about the long process to get to this point – with failed levies and planning meetings started at the ground floor. “It’s getting really exciting,” Geer said. “It’s going to have a real campus atmosphere.” Classrooms fill three stories of the new high school. Board member Peggy Thompson was pleased with the progress. “It’s going up fast,” she said. “It’s huge. I can’t believe how big it is.” And Board President Ardy Gonyer was looking forward to the future of the new school. “Wow. I’m just overwhelmed,” he said. “I’m envisioning what it’s going to look like in about a year. I’m imagining all the kids that will come through this building. All the learning that’s going to go on here.” The “learning stairs” in the commons area.