MILTON — Central School students and staffers are enjoying renovations to their gymnasium, which is part of a $1 million construction project.
GALLERY: Photos from the renovations to the school's gymnasium>
In addition to receiving a heating and air conditioning unit, the gymnasium has received a new, larger locker room.
The gymnasium is vital for school-wide gatherings and athletic events including basketball, volleyball and cheerleading, so expansion was necessary, Athletic Director Tim Nash said.
“We had been in need that for a long time,” he said. “For the last five years, we have requested it.”
Part of the project is converting an old locker room area into a larger weight room. Nash said the school’s previous locker rooms were considerably smaller compared to other schools’, leaving teams “cramped up together,” he said.
With the gymnasium renovation almost complete, the school will soon see construction on a new agriculture lab near the Jaguars baseball field.
“We will be one of the only (schools) to have an agriculture lab,” Assistant Principal Dustin Gray said. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Principal Sean Twitty said the lab will align with the school district’s implemented Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM, initiative.
“Agriculture is part of that,” Twitty said. The new facility will allow students to further explore plants and animals,” he said, adding there will be a designated area for students to work with mechanics.
The district will soon put out a bid for a contractor on the project, which will then need the school board’s approval, according to Joey Harrell, the assistant superintendent for administrative services. Once the contractor and the estimated cost have been approved, Harrell said construction can begin.
Should no permitting issues arise, Harrell anticipates the lab construction to begin around mid-July.
So, what’s the reason for all these changes?
“You can go to Munson Highway and see a few new houses; you got subdivisions that are being built around here, so with that being said, this school is going to grow,” Gray said. “The district is seeing that and providing some additional facilities for us to be able to maintain.”
Twitty said he appreciates the school district’s support, including support from Escambia River Electric Cooperative and the school’s parent teacher organization and sports booster club.
“We are excited about the growth we have had, and the community has really stepped up,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Central School renovates gym, plans agriculture lab (PHOTOS, VIDEO)