MCHS Renovation Progress
July 8, 2011
Please note: This article was originally published on 7/8/2011. Information and/or dates from past events may be not be relevant for the current school year.
The Montgomery Central High School renovation has come a long way since ground was broken last summer.
Students got a taste of what the finished project will feel like when the renovated cafeteria and kitchen opened this past spring. According to Chief Operations Officer, James Sumrell, one major obstacle this renovation has been challenged with is timing and coordinating phases of construction around the schedule of a fully operational high school.
Classrooms have been anything but empty since the final bus left the parking lot in May, workers are busy giving new life to the 41-year-old core building by tearing out the old, salvaging furniture, and reviving the facility with new mechanical systems, technology, clean floors, new ceilings, and a fresh coat of paint.
A recent walk-through of the building dawned a near unrecognizable hallway. If it were not for the distinctive line of red lockers, a visitor would have no idea that students filled those hallways a mere month ago, and they will return once again in the coming weeks. In the thick of the work, the hallway resembles a mine shaft with dirt being dug up and trucked out revealing a giant hole that will soon be the elevator, bringing this outdated building up to code with ADA standards.
In addition to core upgrades, the language and music pods also are on schedule to be completed before students return in the fall. Leading out to the pods are ADA accessible, enclosed hallways to make a safe and secure connection to the main building.
The next phase of construction will be the addition that houses the main entrance, administrative offices, library and freshman academy. This phase is anticipated to be completed after fall break, with the final phase (auxiliary gym and theatre addition) to be completed in 2012.
While renovation work at Montgomery Central High School is progressing smoothly, site work has begun at Carmel Elementary School in southeastern Montgomery County. The design of this school is to be a modified version of the Rossview Elementary School floor plan. This piece of land will also be home to other new county facilities including a public park.