St. Anthony/New Brighton: District transformation

Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune

From left, science students Kelli Meyman, Charlie Montpetit and Elliott Sims worked on a project in their new state-of-the-art classroom at St. Anthony Village High School. The new science labs were part of the first phase of the district’s renovation project, which was mostly completed during the summer.

A funding transfusion makes for a massive renovation at St. Anthony/New Brighton's decades-old schools.

By NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune

Last update: November 3, 2009 - 4:41 PM

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The toilets are all functioning now at St. Anthony Village High School. Fumes from chemistry lab work and from biology class dissections have dissipated. In family and consumer science class, students no longer have to cook with grimy appliances dating from before man set foot on the moon.

St. Anthony/New Brighton schools have been putting $11.5 million in voter-approved bonds and $10.4 million in tax funds for health and safety improvements to bring the district's 40-plus-year-old schools up to modern standards.

Most of the work is done, completed during the summer.

That first phase of work included the bathroom updates, modernizing the science labs in the St. Anthony building that houses both the high school and middle school, installing a new heating and ventilation system, and enlarging the area in front of the high school/middle school building to make it easier for parents to drop off and pick up students. Work at the district's single elementary school -- Wilshire Park Elementary, in St. Anthony -- also is mostly done.

The project's second phase, next summer, will focus on the north wing of the high school/middle school building.

Teachers in St. Anthony Village High School say the working bathrooms and the new heating and ventilation system alone have made a world of difference. New ventilation hoods in the science area have also helped.

"Now, when we do experiments, we don't have everyone on the second and third floor wondering what that smell was," said chemistry teacher Kari Bodurtha.

Teachers and administrators say the old heating and ventilation system did nothing to prevent big swings in building temperature and comfort levels. The new air system, they said, is able to suck most of the moisture that used to linger in classrooms out of the air.

"I didn't think I'd notice it, but I do," said physics teacher Paul Lulai. "This fall, it has been as pleasant as could be, even on those warmer days."

The district also outfitted the science rooms with chemical-resistant flooring, moveable work stations, more interactive whiteboards and monitors, and more space. Now, there are two chemistry rooms, instead of the one that would force teachers to switch rooms or share before this year.

In the family and consumer science classroom, the work stations have new ranges and cabinets and are clustered around a central location so that teacher Cindy Billeadeau can monitor each student's progress without having to constantly move around the room. Plus, the '60s-era work stations that had been in place up to this year were hard to clean or repair.

"We'd open a cabinet and the door would fall off," Billeadeau said.

While the renovations represent major changes to both of the district school buildings, there are other improvements the district would like to make but can't. District voters who approved the $11.5 million in bonds last May turned down other district requests, including a new gym for the secondary school building, a renovated auditorium, an improved fitness center, and a music program addition.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547

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