Lancaster school superintendent says new high school construction is going well
LANCASTER − The new Lancaster High School building won't open until August 2026. But the building got plenty of attention Wednesday at the Lancaster-Fairfield County State of the Schools luncheon at Stanbery Career Center.
Superintendent Nathan Hale went through the construction timeline from the past year. Last year this time only some earthwork was visible. But now 80% of the brickwork on the exterior is finished and the building has windows. The interior rotunda, which will be the media center, is also taking shape.
"In March you could start to see some of the exterior paintwork," Hale said. "Door frames are in. Moving into the classrooms we have drywall, we have paint. We don't have furniture yet."
He said the new building, which will sit near the current high school building, almost looks finished from the outside even though it is not.
"People always ask, 'Are we moving in this year?'" Hale said. "I shared last year that I hoped people in the community would see our vision 60 years from now and understand what we did with this building and our other building projects was to benefit all of our students in the community. And I think we're still on the right track."
Fairfield Union Local Schools Superintendent Chad Belville and Eastland-Fairfield Career Center student support systems director Dwight Carter also spoke.
Belville touted the district's academic success since he took over in 2016 from former superintendent Jan Broughton. He said the district was on academic watch then, but that it's now listed as independent. He said his focus on the district's success is to keep things simple.
"What we do, it can't just be about the kids," Belville said. "It's about all of us. It's about the staff, it's about the parents, it's about the community and it is about the kids. But it's about everything that goes into educating students."
Carter gave a brief rundown of his school, saying it has 26 areas of study and serves 17 schools from 16 districts. He said the school has a 97% graduation rate that students range in a geographical area from New Albany to Millersport and in between.
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: New Lancaster High School construction going well, superintendent says
