OAK RIDGE SCHOOL AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

OAK RIDGE -- Build it and they will come.

At least that's what school officials hope in the Oak Ridge District. With a 10 percent enrollment growth during the last four years, the district decided now was the time to expand.

The district, which has an enrollment of 339 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, is in the midst of a $750,000 building project.

Last April, voters in the district approved the continuation of an existing tax levy. The current tax levy is 60 cents on a $100 assessed property value. The bond will be paid off by 2012.

Oak Ridge Superintendent Roger Tatum said the school board studied the issue for about a year before putting it on the ballot.

"The high school building has some years on it," Tatum said. The building was built in the late 1930s after the original building burned in 1932.

The new addition will house science and math classrooms, an adjoining laboratory room, the home economics room and a computer lab. It will provide an additional 12,000 square feet of classroom space.

The entire project will cost the district about $750,000. The levy will generate $710,000, and the school district will fund the rest.

But right now the building is still under construction. Most of the roof and exterior walls are in place, which means crews can work indoors during inclement weather.

"Our main concern was the masonry and decking," Tatum said. "But that's done and the weather won't bother us."

There are still outdoor projects to be completed, but most can wait for warmer weather, he said.

Because the construction crews are ahead of schedule, the project should be completed on time. The project should be completed by late June and the building will be ready for students by the start of the next school year.

"I think they are excited," Tatum said. "They will get new facilities that are less cramped."

The new science and math classrooms will be joined by an up-to-date science laboratory.

The school received an $84,000 vocational enhancement grant this year. The grant provides money for new equipment in vocational and science classes.

"The labs will not want for anything," Tatum said. "It's a more hands-on approach."

With an incentive grant that Industrial Arts teacher Wayne Bock received this year, students in the modern technology course are able to learn more about weather systems via direct satellite link-ups.

The grant is also part of the new "hands-on" approach to science and laboratory classes at the high school.

With the creation of new classrooms, some programs will have the chance to expand. The library will then expand into the old art room.

And the art classroom will move into the old home economics classroom, which is larger and has more cabinet space. It will also give the students more room for projects like learning the painting styles of Michelangelo. Last week, students tried to complete a drawing in the same way Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel -- upside down. The students used the underside of the tables in their classroom as drawing surfaces, which taught both art and history at the same time.

Both the art room and library are used by both elementary and high school students and will be more accessible for both student groups.

The new building addition creates a more comfortable learning environment and helps with traffic flow, Tatum said.

The Oak Ridge district serves the northernmost part of Cape Girardeau County and the tips of Bollinger and Perry counties.

Besides the new addition, the board has replaced the high school's gymnasium floor.

When the price tag for the construction project rose, members of the Oak Ridge Booster Club decided to help pay for the new, hardwood gymnasium floor.

The floor, which has already been installed, cost about $30,000.

The school board agreed to purchase the floor and paid the initial $5,000. The Booster Club hopes to raise about $25,000 by March 1 to offset the remaining costs.

For more information or to make a pledge, contact a Booster Club member or call the school at 266-3232.