Arched windows look into the commons area and fountain at the new Mason High School. (Michael Snyder photos) | ZOOM |

        MASON — Southwest Ohio's fastest-growing school district will open a new high school Tuesday unlike any in the region.

        Mason High School will be part of a complex that includes the 379,000-square-foot-school building, as well as a 149,000-square-foot community center with a pool and indoor walking track.

        Six basketball courts, a pool in which the bottom of three lanes can be raised or lowered to provide different depths, a 1,200-seat auditorium, fitness and weight rooms and a senior citizen center will be shared with the community.

The entrance atrium is three stories high. | ZOOM |

        Students will be taught in 110 classrooms, science labs that open onto outdoor patios, 28 computer labs and a 108-seat lecture hall with a large-screen monitor, mounted videoconferencing cameras and surround-sound speakers. Students will move among three three-story classroom pods.

        A fireplace in the lobby was donated by Voorhis, Slone, Welsh, Crossland Architects to honor Al Voorhis, a Mason High graduate who started the firm 50 years ago. The high school also includes a fountain and courtyard visible from the lobby.

        “It's a dream come true,” said Marianne Culbertson, president of the Mason Board of Education. “We've imagined it for so long. It's turned out better than I could have imagined.”

        Planning for the joint project between the city of Mason and Mason Schools began in 1999, when the city offered land. A $71.9 million bond issue provided money for the school and the community center, which is set to open in January. The high school is being built at a cost of $102 per square foot, compared with Ohio's average cost of $153 per square foot, said spokeswoman Shelly Benesh Hausman.

A giant music note was incorporated into the floor tile of the band and chorus area | ZOOM |

        “One of the things that has made this district great is that we've been able to look at possibilities and opportunities for students,” said Superintendent Kevin Bright. “This building captures the essence of that philosophy. It has enough flexibility and adaptability to allow changes in (education) programming. If we need to add or delete a cluster, we can do it readily.”

        There are six cluster areas that allow for specialized instruction in business technology, applied technology, communications, visual arts, performing arts and health/physical education. A program will teach scenery construction, stage lighting and other technical aspects of running a theater.

        A store designed and run by students and a student First Financial bank will provide experience in business.

        The food court will link the academic pods and shared facilities with seating for 800 and a raised platform designed for speakers or entertainment. Evenings, it will double as a lobby for the theater and natatorium.

MASON HIGH SCHOOL
Each classroom will have a projector, DVD player, VCR, synchronized atomic clocks, a telephone with voice mail, cable hookup and multimedia computers.    There are more than 100 miles of voice/data cables and 110 sound amplifiers with speakers.    The school has 14 acres of asphalt paving, enough shingles for 40 houses, nearly 1 mile of gutters and downspouts, 4 acres of asphalt roofing, 9 acres of ceiling, 12 miles of tile in five different colors, and enough carpet to cover 1.25 football fields.		The high school and community center are divided into 400 individually temperature-controlled zones with more than 2,500 sensors taking air and water temperature readings.    There are about 90 security cameras, as well as doors that lock automatically during the day — except for the main entrance, which will be monitored by a receptionist.    Students may choose among 39 fine arts, 14 technology and 89 academic courses, including 13 honors and eight advanced-placement courses.

       

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