The James Logan Courier

By Debbie Ly, Courier Staff Writer

District workers scrambled Monday to get classrooms in the new 400s building ready for students and faculty members to start using them tomorrow.

After the demolition of the 100s building halfway through the 2005-2006 school year, a project has been in the works over the last 2 years, and a few last touches are being put on the building before it is released to staff and students on January 29, the first day of the second semester. The weekend after the last day of final exams, the 26th through 28th, will be utilized for teachers who are scheduled to switch to the new building second semester. The Monday in which most of the transferring of furniture will occur is a semester break for students and a teacher workday for teachers.

With the new 400s building in place, the current 400s portables will stand as they are. The only changes made were that the whole back row has been taken away, as will the three science rooms in the right wing of the 400s, respectively, classrooms 472, 473, and 474, since they are not district-owned.

“We hope to honor our students and staff with newer buildings. With natural lighting coming in, the rooms will be brighter and more energy efficient, which is certainly better for the environment,” said Logan Principal, Don Montoya. He said that the design of the new building will resemble that of the 100s, with more windows to allow the incoming of natural lights and, thus, the decreased use of electricity.

Many students and staff around the school are also excited to be able to experience such a change. The new environment will definitely be a good start to a new semester.

“It’s certainly inconvenient to be moving in the middle of the year, but I’m excited to be able to experience a new room with much nicer carpet and walls,” said Peter Carini, 12th grade World Literature teacher.

When asked about her thoughts on moving over to the new building, junior Tiffiny Saphiphack said, “I’m excited about switching to a new room. The new buildings make me feel like I’m in college rather than in high school.”

Many teachers will be affected by the change, including Hughes, Lange, Vazquez, Esquivez, McClintock, Sultana, and Callahan. The remaining portables will be left on campus for further use.

The next project to occur at Logan will be the construction of the new Performing Arts Center. It will be located near the Judson E. Taylor Field and will begin in March of 2008, approximating 18 months to complete.

Construction around the campus will occur for another two years, nearing its completion in the fall of 2009.

“I would like to once again thank the community for their willingness to pass the bond that paid for over $60 million to the construction of James Logan,” said Don Montoya. The $60 million was able to compensate for all the construction that has occurred around campus in the past three years, including renovations of the 100s, 200s, 300s, 400s, and in 2 months, the construction of the new performing arts center.