When Penn Yan Academy students walk through the new entrance to their school building next week, they will begin a school year that will mark the start of a new era in the school district.
Construction workers are scurrying to finish up the final details on the capital project that is bringing the 1960’s era building into the 21st century. And now the students will be able to walk along hallways that don’t have floor tiled walls or are missing ceiling tiles.
The building no longer has asbestos or poorly functioning stage lighting.
But it does have a brand new, modern auditorium, a spacious music suite with plenty of flexible room for band, orchestra and chorus rehearsals in addition to a group of practice rooms.
It has bright, wide hallways, a fully outfitted fitness/weight room, new locker rooms and separate team rooms for visiting athletic teams.
Its library and media center is a welcoming, comfortable area with technology to support learning in the future and the cafeteria is clean and organized.
By the end of September, workers expect to have all the final details complete and students will be learning in a completely refurbished school building.
Some of the students are so hopeful about the opportunity to return to the Academy, they found their way inside Monday to help organize the new music suite.
After spending the last school year preparing for performances in classrooms, hallways or whatever space they could find, students are more than excited about the new auditorium and music suite in particular.
“It’s just so beautiful,” gushes Casey Switzer.
“The best part is the auditorium,” adds Alex Bodine.
He and Amy Stuart, frequently found in key roles in PYA productions, say they can’t wait to put on their next show in the new auditorium.
Superintendent Ann Orman says staff are coming in this week to prepare for the new year. Six hundred students will attend classes in the Academy beginning Sept. 8.
Discussions about providing a new environment for Penn Yan Academy students began in 2001, when this year’s seniors were in third grade.
In 2003, school district voters turned down a proposition to build a new school outside the village at a cost of $47 million.
Over the next two years, staff, board members and community volunteers served on committees to study options, and the board of education decided to seek voter approval for the capital project.
Voters did give their approval to spend $34 million on renovations to the Academy and subsequently agreed to spend another $5 million on renovations in the auditorium and new roofs at the academy and elementary buildings.
