EudoraNews.com

As hard-hatted visitors took a tour of the new Eudora High School building Friday they had to sidestep workers who welded, sanded and did whatever else it took to keep the building on track for a fall 2003 ribbon cutting.

Andy Prosser of Manning and Prosser Construction told a group of USD 491 staff, those involved in construction, and a sundry of other community guests the construction was progressing on schedule.

Eudora Superintendent Marty Kobza praised the quality of work on the building, which as he and other district officials showed visitors, combines the necessary and practical elements of a school building with an effort to create an aestheticly-pleasing environment.

Kobza encouraged visitors to take a look outside where builders have already begun to layer the combination of red brick with stripes of black brick on top of a concrete block foundation.

"Step outside and you'll see red bricks; lots and lots of red bricks," he said.

Kobza said the booster club was worried about how the outside of the building would look because the Alma Mater refers to a red brick building.

"We don't have to change the school song yet," he said.

Even though the inside was still mostly a labyrinth of gray blocks, Friday's visitors could see how each room would be built for its specific purpose. For instance, steel framework revealed where sound-absorbing materials would be placed on top of the music room's walls. In the art rooms, large holes have been left for windows that will allow students to use natural light while working on their projects.

Visitors also got to see how classrooms centered around communal technology work areas, whose interior windows will allow teachers to monitor their students in the work areas while also supervising the students in their classrooms. Kobza said by having groups of students take turns in the work area using computers or other technology, the teachers could give more individual attention to the small groups left in their classrooms.

Supervision also plays a part in the administrative area, which Friday was the steel and concrete frame of the triangular feature that juts out into the courtyard. The School Resource Officer's office will be located near the building's entrance, so he or she can see who comes in and out.

Although it was decorated with nothing more than clumps of mud and construction scraps Friday, Kobza said the district already had plans for landscaping the courtyard, an enclosed area that will allow students to go outside while also being supervised.

Even if they're not outside, students may feel like they are when reading a book in the library. Aside from the technical groundwork for computers and bookshelves, the shell of the library also includes space where students will be able to look out into the courtyard from soaring windows. Even though the only place to sit Friday would have been on the cold concrete floor, Kobza said the space near the window would eventually be a soft, cushioned place for students to study or read a book.

Throughout the tour, Kobza pointed out the aesthetic features that will create an enjoyable environment for students while also demonstrating to voters' the building's practicality, especially when it comes time for the district to add on to accommodate more students.

"They shouldn't be disappointed," he said.

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