Monticello High School renovates gym

     Beginning the day after graduation, Monticello High School closed the gym to prepare for renovations. The renovations started on May 29 and are expected to last until July 22.

     Tim Lambert, who’s the District Athletic Director, is one of the many people who have put in a lot of time and hard work going over plans and finding the best options for renovating the gym. Alongside Lambert, Dennis Dirks, who works in the Building and Grounds department, and Dr. Brian Jaeger, the superintendent, also oversees the changes being made to the gym.

     “The school’s 20 years old and the paint job was really showing its age. Obviously, a gym is a place the community gathers for events- volleyball games, basketball games, wrestling, concerts for choir and band. It’s a place the community gathers a lot and it was starting to look rough,” Lambert said.

     The plan to renovate the high school gym began during the 2016-17 school year. Many members of the Monticello School District staff felt the gym needed some updating and because the floors need to be refinished every 10 years, they decided it was time to give the gym a new look.

     “We have a facilities group that meets and talks about things we need to upgrade and improve and everyone kind of agreed we needed some upgrading. So, we started working through that process and then everyone approved it,” Lambert commented.

     The school decided upon the upgrades by meeting with various groups of floor designers and painters as well as talking with coaches and staff to gather more thoughts and ideas. Lambert said they looked at what other schools have done to get more variety of options that fit their budget.

     “You kind of trust the experts and they walk you through it. They throw out a ton of ideas and designs, like for the gym floor I think they shot me about five or six designs.”       

     The renovations have been going smoothly according to Lambert. A few adjustments had to be made when athletic activities couldn’t be held in the gym, but Lambert is grateful the Berndes Center and middle school have been available to let the activities continue there.

     Some of the changes made to the gym are new lights, refinished flooring, two new scoreboards and painted ceilings and walls. The most noticeable difference in the gym will most likely be the large mural that will not be visible anymore now that is has been painted over.

     Lambert thinks students will be excited to see the gym and it will encourage more school pride and spirit.  

     Lambert said, “We’re real excited and thankful that we’re able to do this and I think it’ll be positive for the kids and the school and the community will be real excited when they see it.”