School renovations expected to finish in December
Vinton students will return to school in just over a week, but for many of them, they are returning to construction sites.
Both William Byrd High and Mount Pleasant Elementary schools are still works in progress, as their renovations are not scheduled to be completed until closer to the winter holidays.
“The project was not to be done until December,” WBHS principal Dr. Richard Turner said. “And we’re still on track for that.”
Still, much of the work at William Byrd High is already complete.
The expanded WBHS cafeteria is easily visible from the stadium's larger press box. Photo by Kristin Adams
“It’s like a new school,” Mike Stovall, Vinton representative on the Roanoke County School Board, said.
Indeed, the high school has gone through some major changes. The $18 million project is meant to upgrade the building and make it big enough to handle 1,400 students. For more than a year, construction workers have been tearing the building up and piecing it back together again. In the past few months, William Byrd High School has finally begun to take shape.
The most noticeable change is the new addition. Set aside as the school’s new front entrance, the wing now holds the principal and assistant principal offices, the nurse station, and the visitor’s entrance.
Relocating the offices has made room for several of the high school’s 14 new classrooms. There are now walls where there used to be hallways, and there is no longer any parking in what used to be considered the front of the school.
“This isn’t really considered the front anymore,” Turner said.
The parking spots in the front have been transformed into three lanes for student drop-off.
Other parts of the school have also seen major renovations. The former annex gym, which was too small for most uses, was split into seven classrooms. The athletic department is gaining a new wing in the back of school, to hold a full-size annex gym, a weight room, and a football team room.
The band room was improved with carpeting and acoustical boxes installed in the ceiling. Most of the school’s walls were given a fresh coat of white paint; more lights were installed in the main gym to brighten it; the transformers and heating and air conditioning systems were upgraded; and all of the rooms were outfitted with Active Boards. The athletic facilities were updated with a significantly larger press box, a new scoreboard with graphics capabilities, an improved concession stand, and a freshly paved track.
The most dramatic change, however— at least for Turner— is the cafeteria.
“It’s not a dungeon like it used to be,” Turner said. “I love it.”
The cafeteria, now a larger and more aesthetically pleasing space covered in decorative tile, has room for five lunch lines instead of three, and is equipped with outside seating.
William Byrd High School's renovated cafeteria is unrecognizable. Photo by Kristin Adams
Even with all of the improvements, though, there is still work to be done. In the days before school begins, construction workers are making finishing touches to the main school building: replacing ceiling tiles, finishing wiring, and moving their equipment so that students can move through the hallways. In the next weeks, many workers will be moving outside to other stages of the project: the annex gym, weight room, and football team room are still in the first phases of construction, and the trailers which used to serve as classrooms will be towed away to make room for more parking.
“I’m confident when all is said and done, we’re going to have a school ready for another 30 or 40 years,” Turner said. “Past our lifetime.”
Mount Pleasant Elementary is also on track to becoming a functional school for decades to come. The elementary school renovations, while not as extensive as the high school, are also expected to be completed in December.
According to Stovall, eighty percent of construction will be completed before school starts; and the project should be completed by Christmas break.
“The old cafeteria is probably the biggest part of that 20 percent,” Stovall said.
That cafeteria will house a preschool group, and will not be completely renovated until December. The new cafeteria, meanwhile, sits empty in a new wing of the building, waiting for students to arrive. In the other wing, administrative staff members are busy preparing their new offices for the school year.
One of Mount Pleasant Elementary School's new wings houses a new cafeteria. Photo by Kristin Adams
In the center of the building, construction workers still need to install flooring. Other updates, such as the air conditioning system, the geothermal heating system, and the lighting are nearing completion.
“To be able to look at that school being transformed…making that school a state of the art school—it’s exciting,” Stovall said.
