Booker High to break ground on new building today
Sarasota, FL - According to a press release circulated by the Sarasota County School District, a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of a two-year project to rebuild Booker High School has been scheduled for this morning at 9 a.m. at the school. The event will include presentations by community members, school district officials, students, representatives of city government, architects and contractors.
The $58-million project is scheduled to be completed in 2013. Although vertical construction is not yet under way, site work began in August to re-route Orange Avenue around the Visual and Performing Arts Theater. That change will unify the campus by allowing students to reach any building without having to cross a street.
Booker High School has been an important center of community life in North Sarasota for more than 50 years. For most of its history, the district added individual new structures to replace aging buildings or to respond to growth in student population. The current project was the first time school officials had an opportunity to develop a comprehensive design for a new school.