Most students have their own ideas about what they want done to revamp and beautify their school. Despite this, the contractors and maintenance do only what they can with the budget on a “what needs repairing most” basis. Even with the visible renovations to the sports grounds and the consistent repair of windows and lighting, there is still much to be desired with the repairs of the school.

A common issue that the faculty would like to see dealt with is the school’s ventilation. Looking at the screens of most classrooms, you can find a layer of dust and mold. “What happens when the wind blows in through the windows? That dust and mold circulates through the room, and we all breathe it in on a daily basis,” said History teacher Stanley Lizska.

Breathing it in must take a toll on the students everyday, but what about the teachers who have been working there for years? “I’ve been sick more as a teacher then I was before,” said Math teacher Karl Labadorf. He’s in the same position as many are in K Hall, as well as others throughout the school.

Another common concern of the teachers are the computer labs. Many of our labs cannot fit the numbers of students that the growing class sizes have created. This has prevented some teachers from bringing their classes down to the computer labs, and therefore the students are missing out on some of the different ways to enhance their learning. “If we had the money, bigger computer labs would be nice. Usually, there are not enough computers to fit my whole class, not to mention that there are frequently many [computers] that are not working, which doesn’t help,” said math teacher Stanley Sadakierski.

Foreign Language teacher Arlene Kotowski agreed with this. “A language lab for my [Spanish] students would be nice as well,” she said.

The students seem to have a different focus that revolves around the sports grounds and their extra-curricular activity sites. A widespread concern throughout the students is the pool. “The track was just redone, the tennis courts are new, the football field is in the future, what about the pool?” said sophomore Owen Burke.

It’s not just the swim team who would enjoy the pool being renovated. “Swimming in freshman and sophomore year wasn’t the greatest in the pool; I was sometimes disgusted,” said junior Christine Griffiths.

Another priority was the “green gym.” “We have one nice gym that has been renovated, but what do people think when they see our other one?” said junior Katelyn Lamere. Many juniors and seniors, who use this gym for P.E. class along with those who use it for sports, share this thought as well.

Many students wish for a lot more than just physical education equipment. “A lot of the seats [in the auditorium] are falling apart, so I think they should at least fix those, although all of them [being replaced] would be really cool,” said junior Marissa Grossi. She explained that you are unable to sit in some seats. Some seats make a lot of noise, and some move the entire row if you sit in them.

Painting the walls of the school would be appreciated by most of the teachers and students as well, as many are dull and ugly colors, and others are very battered from deterioration over the years. While talking to Mr. Sadakierski, he made a gesture towards walls of his room, which were many colors and contained holes and peeling paint. “They’re dingy looking,” he said.

“Many rooms look kind of dreary,” said English teacher Diane Danthony. Along with the colors of the walls, the lack of windows in some classrooms adds to the dark and run-down look some share, like Ms. Danthony’s room. “More windows would be nice,” said Danthony.

Recently during school, members of Student Council met with some contractors and architects in order share their ideas about the school renovations. One thought was that the school should be more organized according to class subject, not how spread out it is right now. Another idea was that the hallways should be widened and the lockers more spacious. The bathrooms were brought up as well; students said that they needed to be fixed and made “nicer.” “A lot of the students focused on the negative aspects on the school, really putting it down, instead of focusing on fixing it,” said junior Jessica Brehaut, member of Student Council.

A lot of the discussions in the meeting focused on a goal in the future. The idea was put out that the school would become more computer based, as to anticipate later years where that would be almost necessary. Everyone agreed that the school should also become more focused on the community, not just the high school. But all of these advancements, and the majority of the renovations, would be completed in an approximate ten-year span.

All of these ideas are projects that many at the high school would like to see done. But among the rest, there are also those who would like the whole school to be “ripped out and done over.” They feel that the school has too much that needs to be done. Some have commented that “little patchwork jobs aren’t going to cut it anymore,” and we almost need to start over fresh and new. But one of the most commonly used phrases that is said along with all of this is “If we had the money…”