Cedar Falls Junior Highs Show Off Renovations

When principal Jason Wedgbury started his job last year, he might have thought he’d walked into a construction site instead of a school.

“I was walking into wires hanging from the ceiling. There were tiles missing from the floor,” he said. “Now, it’s wonderful.”

Renovations of Peet and junior high schools are wrapping up after two years of extensive remodeling and expansion work.

Nearly every aspect of the buildings has been improved. Many classrooms were upgraded and given fresh paint and bigger windows, both meant to improve ambiance. The media centers were moved into new, improved spaces, music practice rooms were added, and both schools have new gyms with performance stages, as well as new wrestling and weight rooms.

Additionally, newly installed geothermal systems will provide more efficient heating and cooling throughout the year, which Holmes principal David Welter said should lower energy costs by about a third.

“That’s good, because we’ve expanded our square footage by about a third,” he said.

A local option sales tax approved by voters paid for the facelifts, which together totaled over $23 million.

Revenue from the tax will next be funneled to renovations for Southdale and Hansen elementary schools. Cedar Falls Community School District director of business affairs Doug Nefzger said plans for those projects could be brought before the school board in early 2012.

“It’s through Cedar Falls community people and their support that all of this has happened,” Wedgbury said. “This wouldn’t be possible without them.”

Students and staff at both Peet and Holmes showed off their renovated buildings at a celebratory open house Oct. 30.

Bobbie Smith, 67, whose grandson Ethan Smith is a Holmes eighth grader, attended the open house.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I don’t know how any kid could come here and not want to learn.”

Student volunteers gave tours and described the changes in their schools. Many said that while happy with the changes, they were mostly just relieved the construction phase was over.

“It was distracting,” Holmes ninth grader Amber Schaub said. “A teacher would be talking and be interrupted by saws.”

Welter praised the students and staff for their perseverance throughout the two-year construction phase.

“For a while we didn’t have a gym, and the teachers got really creative,” he said. “Students were canoeing in the pool, walking in the hallway, doing workout videos in the cafeteria.”

“I’m happy I can take the hard hat off and be a principal again,” he said.