When the 2014 bond passed on May 10, a plan was set in place to help accommodate the rapidly growing class sizes with the high school currently at 1254 students- the biggest it has ever been. The bond will help pay for many improvements and additions at the high school, including a new dance studio, cafeteria space, locker rooms, and the expansion of B-Hall.
In the summer of 2015, the cafeteria and commons area will be expanded to create more seats for the growing enrollment.
“We basically have about 400 people in each lunch because we have about 1,200 students,” assistant principal Bruce Coachman said. “Our students eat in the library, some of them eat in classrooms, some of them eat outside, but if we had to put every student to eat in the commons area, that space would definitely seem a little more crowded. In the next phase of our building, we will add classrooms and seating in the commons as well. But as we add seating, we will also add students.”
In order to provide space for the extended cafeteria, the current Majestics dance room will be removed.
“They are going to build our studio first, so they won’t take away our space without providing us new space,” Majestics advisor Jenny Willis said. “So because [the cafeteria expansion] is a relatively easy piece of construction, they are just taking two walls down and changing the floors, they will start the big construction first and breaking ground, getting our studio space habitable, then the [cafeteria] will be expanded.”
Starting with an expansion of the press box at Leopard Stadium in the summer of 2015, the athletic department will receive its fair share of the bond, including locker room spaces and the replacement of the turf.
“The athletic department bond package will allow the department to continue to provide top quality facilities for all Lovejoy student-athletes for many years,” Lovejoy ISD Athletic Director Jim Bob Puckett said. “The press box has been a valuable need for the last few years. As we continue to grow, it is important to plan for that growth. Locker room and storage space is an important need as well and the construction to enlarge these areas will benefit many Lovejoy sports.”
These changes in the athletic department will have little negative impact on the various sport programs.
“There should be minimal changes to the sports that use the stadium during the construction phase of the press box,” Puckett said. “The adjustments will be well worth the sports’ time once the project is completed some time this coming summer.”
The press box is one of the areas of the school to be changed thanks to the new bond.
Just as athletics receives part of the bond, the education department will be newly funded as well. Opening in the fall of 2016, the B-Hall will be expanded to match the D-Hall.
“From [the bond], we’ll see an addition at Lovejoy High School,” Lovejoy ISD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dr. Dennis Womack said. “There will be about a 20 classroom addition over on the east side of the campus that will mirror, similar, to what we did on the west side a few years back.”
