New wing nearly completed at Butler Senior High School
BUTLER TWP — It’s going to be ready in the nick of time.
The construction zone that has been at Butler Senior High School since 2021 will finally be turned into a wing of 10 new classrooms that will be ready for students by the first day of school Aug. 29, according to district superintendent Brian White.
“We are waiting for the concrete sidewalks to be finished being poured, and once that’s done, they’ll do the bus loop next week,” White said. “Those will be the last two big things … Functionally we’ll be ready.”
The addition is a 19,000-square foot wing that includes a new auditorium; 10 new classrooms, including a science, technology, engineering and math space; woodshops; 3D printers; and additional technology. The project was built alongside a separate project to construct an auxiliary gym at the school, which was completed in January.
The interior of the new wing had a few contract workers finishing tasks Wednesday, Aug. 16, while more staffers worked on the exterior. Looking into the new classrooms, White talked about how they are designed around the needs of students and teachers.
“All the plugs in here are on tracks so they can move around,” White said. “A ton of white board space, that was one of the requests from teachers.”
In addition to the additional space and technology, White said the new wing of classrooms has changed some other aspects of student culture as well. Programs like technology education had to be taught at Butler Intermediate High School last school year, but this year those classes will be at the senior high.
“When you’re in the older grades, you don’t want to go back to the intermediate school with the younger kids,” White said. “Enrollments are up in tech ed because the program used to be at the intermediate.”
The initial cost for the projects, including the new wing and auxiliary gym, was around $15 million, but several change orders approved by the school board have increased that original price tag. White said he would have a total cost estimate for the project in the coming weeks.
“It’ll be nice to be done,” White said.
