SAINT CLAIR - About 40 local residents joined faculty of the Saint Clair Area School District on Wednesday night for an open house to see the progress of the renovated elementary/middle school.
Along with superintendent Kendy K. Hinkel and Principal Jason Bendle, the faculty guided the public around the school, showing what has been completed so far and answering any questions.
There was also a session held at 9 a.m. that only featured the cafeteria since school was in session at that time.
Beyond a complete renovation of the school, the project is adding six classrooms, two special education rooms, a music room, a large instruction room, 23 on-site parking spaces - including spaces for the handicapped - and a play yard on the building's roof.
Hinkel said that the renovations are expected to be completed by June 28 and there will be a full dedication in September.
The night started in the cafeteria where a free meal was provided with spaghetti, meatballs, a salad bar and beverages, and the public got to walk through the "food court" just as the students do daily.
"I'm really pleased with how the cafeteria and food court turned out for us and the kids have really adjusted to it," Hinkel said. "We now are on single lunches in a period, which we couldn't do before because of space, so that's huge for us."
The attendees were then split into multiple groups and visited other parts of the school, including a classroom, the gym and the new entrance to the school.
In a classroom with a group of people, Susan Bunnick, a first-grade teacher, said that the renovation gave them new lockers in the hallways, new flooring in the classrooms, which is now carpet, and there will also be an increase in technology.
The school currently has 30 mini laptops on mobile carts that go from room to room and Bunnick said once renovations are complete, the school will be completely wireless.
In the gym, gym teacher Matt Buletza said that previously there was a thin rubber floor over concrete that hurt the children's backs when doing sit-ups, but now it's a rubber floor over an inch thick matted surface.
"There's no more complaints of hurt backs, only kids complaining because they have to do sit-ups," he said.
Gym improvements also included a new wireless scoreboard and a volleyball system that gives a "college-level" type of court with poles inserted into the ground.
"The gym is used almost every night of the week," he said.
Hinkel then showed off the new entrance, which won't be used until the fall.
She said there will be a fence that blocks out the courtyard with a camera and buzzer so after being asked who they are, the person can be buzzed in.
After walking up to the school under a covered walkway, there's a door with another intercom and buzzer, where the person can be asked for additional information.
Once the person is inside, there is more security as they are inside the building between the district and school offices with safety windows such as in a bank, but don't have access to the area of the school where the students are.
"With everything going on, I wanted to let you know that security was forefront in this," Hinkel said. "Ninety percent of school business will be conducted in this area between the offices. The two windows that look like drive-through restaurant windows are the most secure windows I can get at this point. All of these doors are computerized and locked."
The offices are also locked so if someone is in the office, they can't get direct access into the other parts of the school without being allowed in.
Hinkel said that there will be key cards given out and the school can control who has access and when, for example during certain hours, days, weekends and months of the year.
They can be deactivated at any time.
"We don't have this type of security now," she said. "In the event somebody wants to harm a student, I want to contain it as much as I can. Also, I want to point out that all of this happened with the assistance of the local police force. I can't thank them enough. I am confident to say to you that this is the state-of-the-art plan for schools and I'm so proud of it."
Among those from the public attending the open house was Tracy Zokuskie, Saint Clair, who has a daughter in second grade in the school.
The renovations that impressed her the most was the security, which she said is "fantastic."
"The playground on the roof is not only helping them with space, but it's also helping them with the security aspect," she said. "People can see your kids playing on the playground, so not going to be able to see kids out is much more secure, especially with the society we live in now. I certainly think the security aspect is above and beyond what any of the other schools in the area have."
Michael M. McCord, Saint Clair, former Schuylkill County Register of Wills, said he thinks Hinkel and Bendle did "the best job that they could" with what they had to work with.
He said the school didn't have a lot to work with because of how it is geographically locked.
"I wish I could go back to school here," McCord said. "It's much nicer than when I went to school here."
Ann Marie Keyes, New Philadelphia, a former teacher of the district for 29 years, said she was impressed with the security, the size, choices and cleanliness of the cafeteria and the state-of-the-art gym equipment, which all the improvements "had the children in mind."
"It's definitely a child-focused improvement," Keyes said. "I think for the time we're living in, changes were needed. You can't live in the dark ages."
At the end of the night, Hinkel said that she felt the open house went well.
"I was concerned with in the fall everybody was worried with lunches and the food service, so I wanted them to see it was worth the short-term discomfort for the advantages that we have now," Hinkel said.