Penns Valley Celebrates Renovated High School

SPRING MILLS — At 8 a.m. Aug. 27, the first day of the school year in the Penns Valley district, officials cut a ceremonial ribbon at the main entrance to Penns Valley High School.

Hundreds of students gathered as officers of the senior class, flanked by high school principal Dustin Dalton and district superintendent Brian Griffith, snipped a dark blue ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors. Cheers and applause erupted from the students, who then filed into the newly renovated building for their first day of classes.

The ceremony was the culmination of a $15.5 million renovation project that began in June 2017 and includes an upgraded auditorium with a set construction area, a new band room, changing and storage rooms, new counseling, nurse and principal offices, a secure entryway, a renovated library with small collaboration spaces, air-conditioning throughout the building and a new 1,200-seat gymnasium.

Dalton addressed the crowd of students before the ribbon-cutting. “Everybody knows last year was a long and dreary year with that big (temporary) wall down the hallway. Well, no more,” he said.

Facilities manager Bob Miller said the project is 98 percent complete, with only some finishing touches to be added to the new gymnasium.

Griffith said he was pleased to see the project completed on time and well within its budget, despite some winter weather delays. He also praised the quality of work and the level of cooperation of Miller and all the workers involved.