Officials prepare to open addition
The new part includes offices, a performance area and classrooms.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown Mayor-elect Jay Williams and David Zanotti, president of Ohio Roundtable, will help Youngstown Christian School christen its $3 million addition from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The Rev. Gary Johnston, superintendent, said the 29,000-squre-foot addition -- which includes state-of-the-art high school classrooms, a gymnasium and performance area, chapel and administrative offices -- doubles the size of the school at 4401 Southern Blvd.
The Rev. Mr. Johnston said Sunday's grand-opening gala will be the first public speaking engagement for Williams since his election in November. Williams' participation is fitting, Mr. Johnston said, since the Rev. Jay Alford and Highway Tabernacle founded Youngstown Christian School in 1975, and The Rev. Mr. Alford was very active in promoting Williams' campaign.
Ohio Roundtable is a nonprofit education and research organization under the umbrella of American Policy Roundtable. According to its Web site, the mission statement of American Policy Roundtable and each state-based operation is to restore traditional Judeo-Christian principles to American public policy.
Mr. Johnston said the grand opening gala will also include tours of the facility, student performances and acknowledgment of the many parents, faculty, donors contractors and supporters who made the facility a success.
About the new section
The addition is a privately-funded capital investment that took about one year to build, but about eight years of planning, Mr. Johnston said.
The gymnasium features a floating floor equipped with sensors that detect high humidity, as well as trigger fans under the floor to run until the humidity is reduced to acceptable levels. Sections of bleachers can be moved from the walls and used as floor seating for events on the stage, he said.
The stage area has large movable walls so that it can be converted to a music room and band room. Wherever possible, areas were designed to do double-duty, Mr. Johnston said.
Classrooms include a science lab, art and home economics areas and a media center, and there is wireless Internet capability throughout the addition, he said.