WEST BRANCH High school is ready for classes; work continues at K-8 building

Many of the high-school classrooms were finished last spring.
By JoANN JONES
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BELOIT -- Pupils returning to West Branch Local School District on Tuesday will see much of the fruits of an ongoing building project.
Walking through the renovated high school and the new K-8 complex here recently, school Superintendent Louis Ramunno pointed out what crews were to complete by Tuesday, when classes begin.
High-school lockers were to be installed, and the windows and terrazzo flooring were being placed in the cafeteria so that tables and chairs could be set up for students and staff. Although all cafeteria equipment has been installed, Ramunno said the district won't be able to provide hot lunches the first week.
Finishing touches
Ramunno said that many of the high-school classrooms were finished last spring, and others just need finishing touches such as ceiling tiles, baseboards and some painting.
The building project has allowed the high school to have related subjects taught in the same area of the building.
The bell, public-announcement and fire-alarm systems all are in place. Hook-ups for the monitors for each classroom will be finished over the next month, Ramunno said.
Ramunno said the new gymnasium, the administrative area and the media center at the high school are not scheduled to be finished until December.
The K-8 building
Work on the district's new K-8 building just south of the high school won't be interrupted by the arrival of pupils because they won't be using it until November, when it is totally finished.
The new building, which will house middle-school pupils in the east wing and grades kindergarten through fifth in the west wing, will have separate gymnasiums, music rooms and art rooms, but the pupils will share the 320-pupil cafeteria with a stage area, the media center and the office area.
Ramunno said the elementary wings are color-coded, and each room has areas for pupils' belongings, including the kindergarten classes. He noted that local funds would pay for bleachers in the K-5 gymnasium, something the state would not do.
"Board members thought it was important that parents have somewhere to sit and watch their kids."