Memorial High School is in the final stage of construction. Most of the new campus is operational, and construction crews are applying finishing touches.
The 368,000-square-foot facility, which Dr. Donny Lee, Wichita Falls ISD superintendent, said is larger than two Wal-Mart supercenters, will be ready to receive students by the first day of school on Aug. 15. The only area that still requires anything more than polishing is the auditorium.
The auditorium is designed to be split into six different classrooms when the whole space is not needed for an event, but the district faced delays when the company that supplies the paneling to divide the room went out of business.
Lee said the auditorium is now close to completion and is the largest of the last steps in finishing construction before students arrive.
“We’ll make a strong push towards the auditorium,” Lee said.
“What we have left there is the stage floor, the divider walls," he said. "Regarding anything else in the school, it’s just one last cleanup. Small things like changing locks on different doors, changing access controls, but other than that, nothing major. They’re coming in. We’re ready to go.”
The new school, which is identical in layout to its cross-town twin Legacy High School, features a traditional dining area in addition to a bistro.
Lee said juniors and seniors will also have the option to go off-campus for their lunch period.
Memorial has a total of three gyms, including one for varsity teams, one for junior varsity and freshmen, and one for physical education. The JV gym also serves as the storm shelter and is rated to withstand winds of up to 250 mph.
Lee said the district is looking forward to completing the main facility and can then turn its full attention to finishing the surrounding athletic facilities.
“We’re so excited that we finally got to the finish line on all of our instructional spaces, as we promised," Lee said.
Now the district can focus on the completion of the athletic facilities paid for by the other bond, which is proposition B.
“We should be done on that by October, November,” Lee said.
The school’s classroom designs are specific to each subject matter with specialized designs for computer classes, media production and more. Science classrooms share movable walls with labs, allowing for quick transitions from classroom to workspace.
The campus has designated spaces for several performance arts, including band and dance, plus a black box for theater.
Athletics also received upgrades with multiple boys’ and girls’ locker rooms and a new weightlifting facility.
Lee stressed how thrilled the district is to open the school both on time and on budget.
“We did both of those just as we promised we would all along the way,” Lee said.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: 'As we promised': Here's a look inside WFISD's new Memorial High School, set to open soon
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