Career & Technical Center students present renovation designs to school board; district plans to use student work in project

Students from the Washington County Career & Technical Center presented architectural designs to the school board for renovating the division’s old diesel mechanics building into expanded space for career-technical programs.

Miss Smith, the center’s drafting instructor, introduced the students and explained that the program’s juniors and seniors measured the existing structure, incorporated site constraints and produced floor plans for the first and second floors. "Hands on experience is very nice for me, and I like I had a good time looking at the building," student Caitlin Fleming said during the presentation. The board heard that architects at Thompson & Litton reviewed the students’ work and said they were impressed.

Student proposals addressed three key constraints: the building’s interior support poles, the location of existing plumbing, and handicap-access requirements. The students proposed placing some structural columns within new wall construction to reduce interference with circulation and consolidating plumbing so kitchens and restrooms would align between floors. One student highlighted an open second-floor overlook to increase visual connection between administrative spaces and the shop floor.

Superintendent Perrigan and CTC staff said the district plans to use one of the student designs as a starting point for formal architectural drawings. The renovation approach will also be used as a learning opportunity: draft designs from the students will inform architect drawings, networking classes would install cabling, building trades students could do walls and wiring, and maintenance staff would contribute skilled labor. Perrigan said combining student work and district trades could reduce project cost while providing real-world training.

Board members praised the students’ work and encouraged the district to continue integrating CTE lessons into capital projects. "This was such an amazing project just watching the the light bulbs going off and the ideas," Miss Smith told the board.

(Ending) The district said it will continue reviewing the students’ proposals with Thompson & Litton architects and provide follow-up plans and cost estimates to the board as the design is developed.