Gym Renovations Make Progress with November 1 Completion Date Announced

The new gym floor has taken months longer than expected, and students want answers to the delays.

According to Assistant Principal Steve Bailey a few factors are causing the gym floor installation to take longer than expected. The largest problem has been the humidity with this past summer actually being more humid than in other years.

“They couldn’t lay the floor because when the air dries out, the floor boards shrink causing cracks and gaps in the floor,” Bailey said.

To counter the humidity of this summer, the school rented a large dehumidifier. This machine has been running for about a month and a half, and has lowered the humidity in the gym by about 15%.

Crews have been laying the board for about three weeks, and they say it will be done by the November 1.

The gym is also getting a lot of new equipment. Mr Bailey said a new projection system will be installed where the banners are hanging now. “We hope to lower the clutter in the gym and make it look cleaner and newer,” he said.

A new sound system and score boards are also part of the gym renovation and will be a “big improvement” for the area. Like the rest of the school, the gym also has new white paint and some decorative Hawk art on the walls.

As for the sport teams that use the court (volley ball and basketball), they’ve been inconvenienced by the gym renovations. Head volleyball coach Mike Gansauge says his team has had to be bussed to Mount Jordan for practices and they haven’t had a single home match all year. It has been stressful and not the best situation for the team.

For the basketball team, they are still able to get a lot of their training done off the court. Assistant Coach Courtney Merrill says the team can still do all their conditioning and weightlifting without the gym. For actual practices, however, Juan Diego has offered space.

Problems aside, the players and coaches can’t wait to use the newly renovated gym.