WORTHINGTON - The construction at Worthington High School is under way and on schedule.
District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard said the new parking lot will be done before school starts on Aug. 24. The high school is adding 138 parking spaces to make up for the 110 lost with the upcoming building addition.
“The parking lot had so many entrances before and now there will only be three,” Landgaard said. “The parking will also change direction. We are making these changes because it is safer. It slows down traffic and now when students walk to the building, they will be walking directly there instead of in between cars.”
The entire parking lot will have concrete pavement for easier repairs and a longer life in general when compared to the bituminous option.
Although the parking lot will be ready for the new school year, construction on the 19,300-square-foot addition to the high school won’t be completed untll December. Landgaard said the transition to using the new space will happen during winter break.
The addition will result in five new classrooms, which will be used for business and health classes, as well as a band rehearsal room.
The new space will cause some shuffling of classrooms before the second semester begins. The choir room will become the orchestra room, and the band room will become the choir room. The band will then move to the newly constructed band room.
Landgaard said each existing classroom is currently being used approximately 90 percent of the time. The new addition will allow the administration to make additional sections of classes to accommodate the enrollment, he added,
Landgaard added that the new addition fits into the district’s long-term plan in the event a new high school building is needed in light of the anticipated rising enrollment.
“This would have to happen anyway if this building becomes a middle school,” Landgaard said. “So it will not be wasted space. it has to happen to accommodate the future enrollment. ”
