Wednesday, September 06, 2000

Electricity missing as new school opens

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Power fails several times during morning

By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        MORROW — The first day of classes for the Little Miami district's high school, junior high and intermediate students started with new programs, new buildings and a few surprises.

Robert Bixler (right), principal of Little Miami High School, and George Long, the school's business manager, walk the high school's long upper hallway on the first day of classes. (Dick Swaim photos) | ZOOM |

        Tuesday's opening of the new $15.6 million high school encountered a few glitches as the power went out several times during the morning. The school had to rely on a backup generator, said Principal Robert Bixler.

        Phones also ceased working, so school officials relied on hand-held radios to communicate. The radios are connected to the district board office and to the district's other buildings, leaving the high school with some outside communication if needed, Mr. Bixler said.

        “It's thrown our schedule off a little,” Mr. Bixler said at the time. “We've had to make some adjustments.”

        Officials later learned that an electrician still working in the building had inadvertently caused the power failure, the principal said.

        Seniors were in line at the cafeteria waiting to receive their lunch when the power first went out at about 10:20 a.m. Food preparation was delayed about 15 minutes, Mr. Bixler said.

        Students didn't seem to mind, though.

        “We figured the first day of school wouldn't go like expected,” said senior Mary Burleson, 17.

        Instead, students were thrilled with the amenities in their new high school — whether it had electricity or not.

        Large, modern windows cast light throughout the 135,000-square-foot brick building, which mimics the architecture of the brick buildings on Miami University's Oxford campus.

        The high school also has an auditorium that seats about 500, and a television studio. Mr. Bixler said he hopes the school will eventually have its own cable access channel.

        “It's a lot better than what we had in the past,” said senior Laura Journeay, 17.

The main entrance of Little Miami High School. The architecture mimics the architecture of the brick buildings at Miami University's Oxford campus. | ZOOM |

        After the power returned, Laura and her friends enjoyed their lunch in a spacious air-conditioned cafeteria. At the old high school, they ate in a makeshift cafeteria that sometimes doubled as a gym.

        The new school relieves some of the pressure on the ballooning district, which has to accommodate between 75 and 100 additional students a year.

        Last year, kindergarten classes at Maineville Elementary School had to be held at Maineville United Methodist Church to accommodate the growing enrollment.

        This year, however, fifth- and sixth-graders have been pulled out of the district's three elementary schools. They now occupy an intermediate wing of what was the junior high, next to the former high school.

        The junior high school has taken over what was the old high school.

        The intermediate and junior high buildings also received a face lift this summer, with new paint, blinds and a new computer lab that added about 60 computers, according to Ruth Mitchell, district director of curriculum and instruction.
       
       

       

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