Construction project works toward completion
September 25, 2017
The seemingly never-ending construction has become the soundtrack of the school day. We press play and instead of Kanye, we get the melodious “BUZZZZZZ” of the saw or the dulcet “KKAKKAKK” of the jackhammer. Instead of Bieber, we get the repetitive banging of hammers.
But, as much as we love the new jams, it appears that the cacophony will finally be ending by May 1, 2018.
During the summer of 2016, DHS began the first phase of a $60 million construction project, with a scheduled opening date of next school year, 2018-2019.
The original plan included a 70,000 square foot freshmen academy building complete with a gym, a performing arts building with a black box theatre and additional band and choral rooms, an addition to the cafeteria with increased outside seating, an update to the main entrance, and safety shelters. One additional bridge that was intended to connect D building to the new freshman building was dropped from this plan, and the extra gym was originally intended to have a slightly higher ceiling but it had to be lowered due to budgeting concerns.
Principal Dan Donovan explained that this plan was intended to create more space for the overall student body while designating an area that was specifically for freshmen in order to supervise them more effectively.
With a student population of about 3,200 with a projected growth of an additional 100 within the next two years, and a faculty/staff population of about 200, these additions were long overdue. Many teachers have been forced to roam, jumping from classroom to classroom each period, not having a room that is truly theirs. The construction of the Freshmen Academy, Donovan said, should alleviate the issue by opening up D4 to other classes.
However, despite the rumors of the academy causing freshmen to be completely separate from the remainder of the student body, with talk of incorporating elective classes into the building, the newcomers will remain grouped in with other ages. All grade levels will remain mixed in their art and business classes as well as any other elective, lunch, and study hall.
“If the freshmen were by themselves, it would be like eighth-grade plus,” Donovan said. “They need to be able to see how seniors interact with each other in the cafeteria: they’re mature while talking to their friends, eating. They’re not throwing food and getting out of control.”
Despite the full year spent working on the project, the small improvements to the autoshop — having gotten a new paint job and floor — as well as an upgraded fuel tank, sprinklers and fire alarm system, and an upgraded generator are the only things that have been completed as of the start of the year. The only other facet of the project close to completion is the repairs to the roof of the main building, Donovan said.
In response to a question about the construction timetable, Donovan said, “One thing I’ve learned from being involved in this project is you can’t control the weather, you can’t control the materials. The cafeteria would be completed, but the materials couldn’t be here until mid September; there’s nothing we can do.”
The construction being done on the front of the main building has been especially subject to delays due to the recent Hurricanes, according to Donovan. The materials required to complete this component of the project have to be delivered from Florida and it has been difficult for the company to be able to ship the supplies, postponing the completion date until mid-November.
Robert Tripi, business development manager of Rizzo Corp., the project’s contractor, said the front of the building also proved challenging in ensuring the school was ready for students post Labor Day.
“The front entry ways was a major challenge time-wise since there was so much to be done in such a short amount of time;” Tripi said. “But, now it’s set to be complete within the month.”
Despite the progress and getting the school year started on time, some in and around the DHS community remain annoyed.
“The construction at school causes distraction, making it harder to learn in class as well as block pathways to go get where we need to go as students,” junior Daiquan Thomas said.
Social studies teacher Jose Machado also has a daily struggle with the construction as the Freshmen Academy is being built right outside his classroom.
“It’s made for a louder classroom environment causing me to put more either on a PowerPoint or on a handout in order to make sure everyone understood the directions,” he said.
Donovan agrees that the construction is far from ideal, saying, ““it’s disturbing — sawing through metal, the pounding, the trucks beeping.”
Donovan said he has tried to deal with the complaints as the come in, but overall the faculty, staff and students are doing their best.
“The staff has been great,” said Donovan, in his second year as principal. “The teachers and kids have been really good throughout the process. They know there’s nothing we can do about it; we just have to deal with it for a while.”
Thomas agreed, saying, “We deal with it, there’s not much that i can do. The only thing that we can do is close the windows, because using headphones and being able to mentally block out the noise could be impossible and not allowed.”
Machado said, “As most teachers, we’re professionals and try and do the best job we can given the situation were put in.”
“In the end it will be worth it,” he continued, “because it will provide the opportunity for more students in one community that is becoming ever more diverse and allowing for us to learn from one another and share our experiences.”
Rizzo is working with the school district to find ways to abate the noise level, such as installing the yellow insulation on the academy building that will help muffle the sound of work going on inside the structure.
Other than the obvious noise issue, Donovan says he doesn’t think that the project will disrupt much else. In regards to school events currently and in the future, he said, “It definitely [didn’t] affect Homecoming … graduation. If it didn’t affect graduation last year, it definitely won’t this year.”
It’s expected that anything new will cause some confusion until people get used to the set up.
“A whole new parking situation, a whole new travel pattern, and a new front entrance will, of course, cause confusion,” Donovan said, “but the kids do a great job staying out of unsafe areas like around the new academy.”
Tripi says that student safety is a major concern for the company.
“Very often we do campus work so student safety is really second nature to us,” Tripi said. “We have safety meetings to make sure we keep the students safe and the workers safe at all times.”
Nearly all of the project is being funded by the state with the city getting back around 80 percent of the cost. However, this is just because it is additions to the school, instead of changes to the main buildings.
Many students argue that with all the money that is going into construction, DHS could be getting some well deserved air conditioning for the warmer months. Right now, though, AC is not feasible for the school, despite how refreshing it would be.
“It would be a huge amount of money to do any work to the main building — upwards of $30 million just for AC,” Donovan said.
Although the school unfortunately will remain like a sauna in September and June, and the noise may have caused everyone to seriously consider investing in some noise-canceling headphones, Donovan has some reassuring news for the DHS community:
“It’s getting there.”
