A very long awaited building construction project is taking shape on the campus of Olmsted Falls High School. While we only have some construction fencing and alternate traffic patterns, people will begin to see a staging process take place.

When I became the superintendent 4 years ago one of the first things that I did was visit with the architectural firm that the district has had a long standing relationship with–the Architectural Vision Group. While the high school building project was passed only a year ago, the scope of work has been in the making for about 20 years.

During my first tour of duty as a school psychologist for Olmsted Falls, the district was going through a housing boom. Within 7 years, approximately 1,000 additional students were enrolled which led to significant overcrowding. A small addition to the high school occurred around 1996, but the district kept growing. Despite several attempts, the voters did not approve a bond issue to expand the size of the building and as a result the district was forced to acquire classroom trailers that were supposed to serve as a temporary fix. Fifteen years later, the stars aligned last fall and the voters were overwhelmingly supportive of the Bond Project which will have a significant impact on the building.

Throughout the year I will be providing you with periodic updates and they will also appear on the district’s main blog page as well.  The image at the top of this page outlines the majority of the work that will be conducted and as you can see, there is literally something for everyone to get excited about.

The most significant amount of work will solve our overcrowding problem and it will take place in the academic wings. With Academics, we will add 9 science classrooms and 4 business classrooms including a FAB Lab (16 total). In the Arts, we will add 3 new art classrooms; we will double the size of the band and choir area, and the auditorium will receive lighting and HVAC updates. With Athletics, we will renovate the locker room, create seasonal team rooms, and provide new flooring and ceiling finishes in the athletic corridors. In the heart and most visited sections, we will renovate the kitchen, the cafeteria and the media center. These areas will be completely renovated. They will be a place for students to congregate during the day and meeting space for the community in the evening.

Our goal is to have all of the additional classrooms and building renovations completed for the start of the 2018-19 school. It is an aggressive schedule and it will require those that attend the high school everyday to work around it. When the dust settles, the building will be something that will house all of our students and better prepare them for the next stages in their lives.

Thanks for listening.
~Jim