At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, construction began to create a new, more secure and refreshed office. Construction was anticipated to be done in October but instead, the new office was open for use at the end of January. Funding for the project came from the 2022 Bond Project that is also supporting the long plan to redo the entire school. Principal Andy Baxa noted the focus of the office project was to add a secure vestibule.
“It used to be very unsecure,” Baxa said. “Anybody could walk in and there’s no guarantee they’d go into the office. The main purpose of redoing the office was to increase the overall security and safety of the school.”
Front office receptionist Sara Zettner is very excited to have a new space that is fresh and specialized for the faculty.
“It’s very nice,” Zettner said. “After being in the library and all squished with everybody, it is nice to have our own space. I also love the windows.”
As construction continued during the 2025-2026 school year, the office was temporarily relocated to the library. While for some this was inconvenient, office aide junior Lily Blottie enjoyed the large space of the library.
“I like the office being in the library because I like the lighting, it has very nice low lighting, which doesn’t hurt my head,” Blottie said. “It’s also honestly very cozy, and I feel like I get a lot of work done being an office aide even though I have to deliver passes.”
For the office aides, being in the library provided more seating and space for them to not be crammed together.
“We had a lot more seating as office aides,” Blottie said. “Last year, I was an office aide, and we had very minimal seating. Some people had to sit in different areas due to the lack of seating available near the desks, while in the library, this is not as much of an issue.”
Some students, such as junior Marlowe Walsh, feel that the office construction was disruptive and hard for the faculty and students.
“I feel like it is very unfair to the office employees that work very hard,” Walsh said. “Also, the counselors have to share a room, which makes things less private when you are talking with them. I feel very awkward talking to my counselor when there’s five other counselors and other students listening.”
On the other hand, Blottie felt that the library made the counseling system easier and more efficient for students.
“It is nice to have a place to come talk to the counselor about something very personal or scary,” Blottie said. “It’s also easier to sign up for the counselor in the library because of the computer, and all of the people there are so nice and will tell you where to go.”
Zettner enjoyed getting to know some of the counselors and librarians better.
“A good part of being in the library was getting to talk with Mr. Zuniga and the counselors because I didn’t see them as much before. It was nice to see them and say hi all the time.” Zettner said. “Now that we are back in the main office, I don’t get to see them as often.”
While Zettner enjoyed some aspects of the library, she is happy to have a more secure place for students.
“It’s definitely more secure,” Zettner said. “The doors are kind of a pain because we have to open them, but it does make it more safe for students.”
Along with the new privacy and security added, Walsh is looking towards the convenience of having a front office centrally located.
“It’s much more convenient if you go around to get in the building,” Walsh said. “Now I have an extra exit for students. I also feel like hallway traffic isn’t going to be as bad, and parents picking up their kids for appointments will be much easier and much more efficient.”
Now that she is moving back into the office, Blottie is sad to leave the library, but excited to get to be in the new space.
“I’m going to be pretty sad because I really like the library, it’s very peaceful and quiet,” Blottie said. “But it’ll be nice for Ms. Zettner to have her space back, for the counselors to have their own rooms. I am excited to see the new space and get to be in it while I am an office aide.”
With the shift of everyone coming back into the main office, Baxa has intentionally been trying to aid the transition.
“Any time you do a new change like this, there’s going to be growing pains,” Baxa said. “Kids trying to figure out how it flows and how it works is what we’re working on right now. We added a student information desk out here near a student hallway, and we’re looking at ways we can adjust the way our campus flows, the way it functions, to meet everybody’s needs.”
