Just this past weekend on Saturday Oct. 13th, a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new high school marked the beginning of a 2-year period of construction that will inevitably result in the demolition of FHS.
So what exactly does this new school entail?
According to a recent plan, the modernized building will feature approximately 20 percent more academic space, improved lighting and ventilation, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and a considerable increase in technology within classrooms.
However, while the new facility will certainly be a step-up from the dimly lit 38 year-old building students currently reside in, there is no doubt that it’s destruction will solicit a multitude of mixed opinions from FHS-ers.
“It’s a little sad because I’m not even going to be part of the new school,” states Junior Maggie McDonald. “Plus, when we go back for reunions in the future, we won’t be able to come back to Franklin High and get that feeling of nostalgia.”
“It’s so weird that the school’s going to be knocked down. You look at all the murals and artwork that we created, and then it’s sad to think it’ll all be lost. The new FHS won’t have that personality—and the people who worked so hard to make the school what it is today will be so disappointed when it’s gone,” says 11th grader Melissa Karp.
“When we come back, it won’t be our school…it will be like some random place. It feels like a kind of ‘home’ to me, and it’s sad that it will be gone and we are the last ones to graduate from it,” recalls 11th grader Allison Klowan when asked about her feelings concerning the demolition.
Although there are certainly multitudes of upper-classmen who oppose FHS’s leveling, still others are excited about the new building, assuming that bigger classrooms and a more spacious environment will be a step in the right direction.
“I think it will be good to have a clean high school!” exclaims Amy Klowan, a freshman at FHS. “Hopefully it will be less confusing to learn.”
Whether it’s excitement or anger, sadness or indifference, there is no doubt that students have their opinions.
However, there’s no denying the facts: in just two short years, Franklin High as we know it will be decimated to a mere pile of dust and debris, a 40 year-old memory left in the rear-view mirror.