The construction schedule for the new addition and renovations at Southern High School is on target for completion by the end of this month.
The new wing, which fronts Southern High School Road, will add 400 seats for students, increasing the high school’s capacity from 1,100 to 1,500 students.
The addition consists of six science classrooms; three science labs; three resource rooms; two multi-purpose classrooms; restrooms; and offices and work spaces for teachers.
Also included in the new wing is a dedicated office – equipped with a big-screen computer monitor to track activity via 100 security cameras installed throughout the high school – for the School Resource Officer, according to Dr. Todd Thorpe, chief operations officer for the Alamance-Burlington school system.
Construction of the new addition and renovations throughout the existing classroom buildings are funded as part of the $150 million bond package that voters approved for ABSS in November 2015.
As part of the renovations at Southern, the old automotive shop was torn down and replaced with a new building, which has three classrooms and several labs, in order to expand the available square footage for the shop program, Thorpe said in a recent interview with The Alamance News.
The shop building, cafeteria, and several other areas also now feature “rollup doors” to comply with building code requirements, Thorpe said.
[Story continues below photos of completed construction.]
Two other buildings that were originally slated for demolition were ultimately kept in place after the engineers for the project determined they were still in good shape, Thorpe elaborated in the interview.
ABSS received the certificate of occupancy for the new wing at the end of October, Thorpe confirmed, adding that the project remains on track to be fully complete by the end of this month.
Construction of a brick serpentine wall at the perimeter of the high school, which had been featured in the architect’s preliminary plans for the renovations and new construction at Southern High School, will be completed at a later date, Thorpe told the newspaper.
OTHER CURRENT/RECENT ABSS COVERAGE:
Southeast High School construction on schedule: https://alamancenews.com/southeast-high-school-on-target-to-open-for-2023-2024-school-year/
Top ABSS administrator overseeing construction project to retire in February: https://alamancenews.com/abss-chief-operations-officer-will-hang-up-his-hard-hat-for-good-in-february/
Arctic cold during Christmas week causes pipes to freeze at three ABSS schools: https://alamancenews.com/arctic-cold-impact-frozen-water-pipes-burst-at-three-schools/
