Started shortly after the Spring 2009 Semester, construction that has led to closed bathrooms, fences, and blockades around Carson High signify the promise of future improvements.
On July 1, construction began at the front of the school. The money used for construction came from bond money from the first and second bonds and is strictly used for only construction purposes.
The staff of Carson High has decided to extend the administration building up to the sidewalk at 223rd and Main St., replacing the school electronic bulletin board and the Carson High School sign.
The new administration building will have new offices for each small learning academy and will provide more space for the offices presently located in the C building.
“[The new administration building] will give us the space we need to move the existing offices occupying the current administration building there, and the offices in the C building will be moved into the current administration building so that there will be more classrooms available,” stated Principal Kenneth Keener.
In addition to the office building extensions, the construction of the OAR is another project being put into action.
The design of the construction started prior to Keener’s arrival to Carson High four years ago. The new OAR will provide enough space needed to contain all the teachers and staff during meetings.
“[The new OAR] will expand towards Main St. and will no longer be slanted but instead have a leveled floor. It’s going to be a smaller MPR and will be a bigger meeting room for the teachers and staff,” said Keener.
In the J building, dirt was being held and covered up by boards. The boards were used to make sure the dirt would not interfere during school time, but due to excessive dirt, the construction next to the J building will result in a placement of a concrete retaining wall and a bench.
“[The concrete wall] should have been done before school started but it got delayed because the workers got called to do other projects,” said Keener.
The installation of the handicap stalls caused the bathrooms at J and C buildings to be temporarily closed off.
Due to the construction taking place around our campus, workers needed a place for themselves and for their tools.
The area blocked at the Z buildings provides the place for the contractors’ offices and a location for their supplies.
Some teachers are unhappy because of the limited spaces and areas caused by the construction, but they still understand its necessity.
“[Construction] makes the teachers take more time to get to school and makes it much slower for students to get to class and causes traffic. It’s inconvenient, but I’m hoping it will bring the needed improvement for the future,” said ATCA teacher Fariba Vatandoust.
“If it’s necessary, it’s necessary,” said TEK PREP teacher Jonathan Perez.
A number of students are also affected by the event.
“It makes it harder for me to get to class. I have to go around the whole building because the other side is blocked off. Having fewer bathrooms makes it crowded, and [it gets] even dirtier and noisier,” said sophomore Merolly Mallete.
“It gets me annoyed when I’m working, but I don’t mind. [The closed bathrooms] kind of irritate me, but I don’t mind that either,” freshman Melissa Schwerin said.
The construction of the OAR will take about two years to be finished, and the administration building should be ready in about a year. Soon, there will be a sign at the front revealing what the administration building project is.