Plan for Batavia High expansion offered
Separating academic and exploratory space, adding 200 parking spots and constructing a more secure front entrance are all things Batavia School District 101 officials are looking to accomplish with an expansion at the high school.
The district's architectural firm, ARCON Associates of Lombard, presented a floor plan draft for the high school addition to the school board Friday.
A new classroom wing, auditorium and field house were all components of a $75 million referendum passed by voters in April.
The classroom wing is the first piece at the high school scheduled for construction. It is supposed to start next year and be ready for use in the fall of 2009.
In the plan, additional classrooms would be added on the north and south sides of the building. The parking lots would be expanded to the west, with about 100 spaces extra in both the north and south lots.
The auditorium and field house eventually would be added to the west side of the building, putting all music, physical education and theater classes and activities on the west side of the building.
That should make the academic area quieter, and allow it to be closed off during after-school sports and performances, Superintendent Jack Barshinger said.
Architects still are looking into whether to eliminate the tiers in the cafetorium, which would allow for putting more students in there.
The district also could add an additional lunch area for upperclassmen or seniors, Barshinger said.
In the new hallways, lockers only will be on one side of the hallway to help alleviate some of the hallway congestion, said Bryan Johnson of ARCON Associates.
The school board plans to have a meeting to ask questions and make comments on the plan next Tuesday.
After that, officials plan to post it on the district's Web site, www.bps101.net, and hold public open houses to solicit community and student input on the design.
The district hopes to get final approval from the city for the addition in early January, Barshinger said.