Lockport District 205’s Central Campus to reopen after ceiling collapse
After closing last fall due to a ceiling collapse in a classroom, Lockport High School’s Central Campus is set to reopen for freshmen’s first day on Monday, though the district said they are not off-the-hook for other needed renovations.
School administrators say all immediate safety hazards have been mitigated by the estimated $5 million to $6 million project completed by Berglund Construction and DLA Architects, allowing the Central Campus community to return to their designated school.
A celebration of the project is scheduled for 8-8:20 a.m. on Friday outside the main entrance at Central Campus, 1222 Jefferson St., Lockport. It will include coffee and doughnuts, dedication for the 115-year-old building and remarks by Superintendent Robert McBride and Principal Kerri Green.
The ninth grade students and staff were bused to the shuttered Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort the remainder of the school year following the November ceiling collapse.
Green said despite finding a good temporary home at Lincoln-Way North, she is excited for students to come back to school in their own community.
“It’s something that we cherish,” Green said. “And having them back at Central Campus, which has so much history, and it’s just truly a fantastic place for freshmen from our seven different feeder schools to come here, bond together, form relationships and develop that sense of belonging.”
However, Central Campus’ quick transition from construction zone to working school means students will not be provided the typical classroom walk-through ahead of their first official day, an event intended to help them feel comfortable before jumping into the daily grind of high school. Green said students will instead be able to use their first day to get to know the building and understand their schedules.
McBride said last-minute fixes and cleaning won’t wrap up until Sunday. Over eight months, ceilings within 29 classrooms and three hallways, or about half the building, were gutted and replaced with more modern drywall and lighting, and structural framing was strengthened.
McBride said after the demolition phase of the project, structural engineers were able to better diagnose some of the problems with the more than century-old building that need to be addressed. He said the roof hasn’t been replaced since 1980 and the electrical system needs to be modernized to accommodate the new range of technologies used by students and staff.
To fund these projects among a few others, the school board set aside $10 million to $12 million within their fund balances, which is how the district paid for the ceiling repairs, as well as committed to take out up to $26.2 million in bonds.
Voters rejected a ballot measure in March to fund $85 million in renovations to Central Campus, leading to the board to take action to address “the most urgent and practical work at Central,” McBride said.
“The community is going to have to make a decision about where it wants to go with this facility,” McBride said. “And hopefully we can guide people there.”