After six months of construction Central High School has a new half-million-dollar administration building.
On Thursday, Gov. Charles Turnbull and Department of Education officials dedicated the new building, which will allow room for a key element of any school – a library.
"What this means to us at Central High School is an opportunity to provide better service to our students," said Kent Moorhead, the school’s principal.
For some 30 years, the school's library and administration offices shared the same building. More than $1.1 million was spent to construct the new administration building and expand the current library.
As the new administration building is completed, at a cost of $482,628, the old structure will begin a $637,216 renovation that will accommodate a new library. Funding for the project is from Public Finance Authority bond proceeds and a 1998 appropriation from the Legislature.
The library expansion was undertaken after the Central States Accreditation Board threatened to disaccredit the school if the work were not done.
The current library was built to serve some 700 students. Central’s student body is now 1,700, according to Assistant Principal Regina Williams.
The question of whether the V.I. government had the funds to stock the library with books and other equipment was answered Thursday when Turnbull presented a $15,000 check.
Moorhead said Central remains in dire need of an auditorium, student activity center, renovations in all classrooms, a tech center and physical education facilities.