Like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, Linganore High will soon shed its old skin and look to the future.
Students, staff and alumni of the school remained committed to the idea this week that a school is more than bricks, mortar and portable classrooms as they said their goodbyes to the 46-year-old building.
Beginning in August, the student body will move to the brand-new Oakdale High School, until a new Linganore High is built.
Constructed in 1962, the high school is now bursting with students. At last count, the school boasted some 40 percent more students than its capacity allowed.
The Linganore High community had been struggling for years to get funding for repairs and expansions to the aging school.
In March 2000, parents descended upon a Frederick Board of County Commissioners meeting, distributing ‘‘Linganore survival kits,” which included plungers, ant traps, air fresheners and rain bonnets to the board. The parents were concerned then about leaks, overflowing toilets, pest infestations and unreliable heating at the school.
In 2003, budget cuts pushed back renovations to the school, and early in 2006 renovations were again pushed back to 2012. However, the county was able to find funding for the school in May 2006, and a completion date for a new school was set for 2010.
Linganore’s Class of 2008 graduated Tuesday night at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, with a ‘‘Safe and Sane” party immediately following in the college’s Knott Arena. The 409 graduates experienced their last day at the school on May 28. Underclassmen will attend until Tuesday. School lets out three days earlier than the rest of Frederick County Public Schools to give staff extra time to pack up.
The school’s electrical power will be cut on June 19, and demolition will begin on June 23, according to Josh Lewis, the school’s registrar.
Linganore High recently hosted two events to give the community a chance to say goodbye to its hallowed halls: ‘‘Linganore’s Last Waltz,” a finale concert, and the ‘‘Final Goodbye of Linganore,” a student-run ceremony that, though beset with problems, was still poignant.
The Final Goodbye had been originally set for May 27, but was rescheduled to Monday due to bad weather. It was also originally supposed to have a bonfire, but organizer Jess Tomko, 16, a junior at Linganore, said a federal burn ban prevented students from lighting one. Instead, on Linganore High’s darkened stadium field, several rows of candles spelled out ‘‘LHS.”
‘‘The candles were a last-minute solution,” Jess said, adding that the purpose of the event was to give students a chance to celebrate the school’s spirit. ‘‘We’re still Linganore,” she said.
The Final Goodbye event brought out many alumni who also wanted to honor the school.
One was 38-year-old Monrovia resident Paul Triplett, Class of 1987. Triplett said that he attended because he wanted to honor the school and because he missed his own graduation. He was recovering from an automobile collision at the time.
Junior Lauren Schoelen, 16, of Mount Airy said she organized the Final Goodbye because she wanted to show her appreciation for the school’s legacy.
‘‘I like the personality that the school gives to people,” she said.
‘‘It’s kind of cool that your school has a history.”
Tony Miller, a history and psychology teacher for 30 years, as well as field hockey coach at Linganore, also graduated from the school. Miller said he was impressed by the fact that though Linganore was not tied to a specific town, it became its own community.
Alumni playing at Linganore’s Last Waltz recognized the significance of the last show on the school’s stage.
‘‘This stage has value,” said Judd Bolger of the brother-sister musical duo Judd and Maggie, RCA Victor recording artists. Both Judd, Class of 1998, and Maggie, Class of 2001, said they discovered their love of public performance on Linganore’s stage.
Maggie Bolger said that though high school was a tough time, she would miss the stage on which she performed in musicals and talent shows.
‘‘Maybe not everybody is sad about [the building] being pulled down, but [the stage] is a really special part of the building,” she said.
Danny Knight of the Knight Brothers, a quartet of musicians who graduated from Linganore in the 1980s and performed at the Last Waltz, said Linganore was a very special place.
‘‘God has blessed this building and everyone in it,” he said.
Linganore Principal Marge Lyburn addressed those at the Last Waltz, saying that students, faculty and staff would always show their Lancer pride.
‘‘We will continue to do this wherever we are,” she said. ‘‘Come back in 2010 here to this very spot, and join us [at a new Linganore High].”
