Shortly after the 2022-2023 school year ended, summer construction began. On June 5, air conditioning installation started for a select few rooms in the high school. The rest of the roof was tarred and repaired to prevent leaks and other issues. The project went underway and carried on through the rest of the summer. Due to delays in the work, the school year, which was scheduled to begin on Aug. 24, was pushed back to begin on Sept. 5. These delays made many changes to the school year for both students and administration. One of the predominant differences was the Big Knob Grange Fair not taking place during the first week of school, which was a commonplace for students.

“Having the fair over summer break gave me time to go and enjoy it,” junior John Tatko said.

Caused by the delay, the new last day of school is set for June 7. Despite the setback, construction is not set to be completed until late October. Until then, students still have to learn with tar odors lingering through the halls. The building has had many leaks and other issues with the roof over the past several years leaving many students wondering, “why now?” Principal Steven Mott and several other administrators thought that it was simply time for a new roof.

“Roof replacements are expensive and time consuming. I started at FASD in Aug. 2021. At that time, we started identifying potential capital projects that the school would want to undertake. Considering the noise and the odor of some of the projects used, it needed to be done in the summer. There was not enough time to plan the project for the summer of 2022, so we focused on getting it done this summer,” Business Manager Ms. Erin Bluedorn said.

For the entire project consisting of the full high school roof and two small sections of the middle school roof, the district spent $2.4 million. The funding for this project comes from both the district’s Capital Fund Balance and the ARP ESSER funds. Each account provided about half of the funding.

Since the district has a month of  construction left, students are already starting to feel the improvements in some areas of the school. The high school still has big plans as there are still a number of projects that have been put aside, awaiting completion. The roof being the largest improvement that the building has received in the past years. More projects similar to the work on the roof have been scheduled. 

“Some are still in progress and others have been identified for future years,” Bluedorn said. Though none as large as the roof, several other small projects are in the planning book for the future. After years of planning, a much needed change has been made to the district. Despite a few setbacks, the district and the students will soon be able to enjoy a leak-free roof.