The Jamestown (New York) district has broken ground on a $20 million capital improvement project at Jamestown High School.
WRFA Radio reports that the upgrades include new roofs, windows, and electrical work involving information technology and fire alarms.
Renovations will be made to the building’s information technology systems, second-floor classrooms, bathrooms, hallways on the second floor and basement, the “Old Gym,” cafeteria, courtyard, and auditorium.
Kevin Whitaker, superintendent, said auditorium upgrades will include seat repair and possibly some new seats. Heating and cooling upgrades will provide equipment with the capacity to air condition the entire high school building. New plumbing and water fountains will be installed.
“For nearly a century, [Jamestown High] has served generations of students," Whitaker said. "These improvements will allow it to serve generations more while aiming to keep our students warm, safe, and dry by modernizing classrooms and student spaces, enhancing safety, security, and technology, and providing essential maintenance to these spaces.”
The existing high school campus is the second incarnation of the district's only high school, the district says. The main building and the Industrial Arts Building opened in November 1935 as part of a federal public works project. Additions were completed in 1967 with the annex wing of the building, which connected the main building to the Industrial Arts Building, and in 1986, when the James F. McElrath Gymnasium was built.
New York State will pay for 98% of the project; the remaining 2% will be covered by the district’s capital reserve fund.
