Mountains of dirt everywhere. Park
The campus has been going through some constructional changes since the summer started last year. Even when the doors closed, the opportunity to grow was still open for the campus.
It’s important to know exactly what is coming for the campus if students are expected to feel okay with recent changes.
“The construction around the campus will eventually become a ninth grade campus,” AP Jenny Stone said. “It will help deal with overcrowding while also focusing on freshmen in just that one building. There will also be an additional parking lot built in accomplice to what I understand will be the ninth grade campus itself. In addition to making this room, the gymnasium parking lot will be dug up.”
The addition of these new facilities seem to bring positive feedback to some of the higher voices in the school.
“It’s a little inconvenient but with progress comes some inconveniences,” Col. Vincent Jefferson said. “Eventually it’s gonna be beneficial for all because of the extra room. Parking should also become better. I personally am looking forward to the new facility.”
With so much of Willis as a city constantly growing, it was eventually needed for some of the rooms on the campus to be cleared out for more opportunities.
“Willis is a growing community and as the community grows so will the schools,” AP Timothy Douglas said. “This is going to benefit the entirety of the school by adding additional classrooms, lab spaces, and just a lot of needed areas so that the kids can grow.”
Providing the construction of new buildings on the campus has made some of the students themselves feel it is not the correct choice however.
“It’s unfortunate that seniors will experience a hiccup in their final year of high school,” Jefferson said. “In order for other students to follow them however, it is a necessary change that’s gotta happen. Yeah they’re gonna stress over the little inconvenience but they’re gonna get over it.”
A good counterargument to the construction itself is the amount of damage that comes to the environment around the school.
“Before I became an instructor in education I was a construction worker,” Douglas said. “We always see the trees that get knocked down and the erosion that’s caused, and it’s unfortunately just part of the process. Ultimately in the long run it’ll be worth it. We just don’t see it right now.”
Even with the damages, the students are still happy with this construction most of the time.
“I think it’ll be beneficial because there will be new stuff,” junior Mario Dura said. “There will be more space in the hallways and more space in the parking lots.”
At the end of the day however, the school has to break a few eggs to make an omelet.
“We always have to go through growth especially when a community is growing,” Stone said. “We need to understand that any time that there’s growth there’s gonna be bumps in the road.”
