School board gets tour of Oakdale

Members have inside look at new school building, set to open for staff Aug. 12

‘‘I’d love to see their faces,” she said.

Construction on Oakdale High School began in the fall of 2006, and it has continued as scheduled since then. According to Roger Fritz, construction manager on the project, the school cost about $52.7 million to construct, but when the cost of furniture, utilities, road work, design and permits is accounted for, the total cost comes to about $67 million.

Groth and other school board members took a full tour of Oakdale on July 7, and Groth could scarcely contain her esteem of the new school building in an interview with The Gazette Tuesday.

The use of natural light and earth tones to decorate the school and the spacious lobby struck her immediately upon entering.

She said the lobby employs the ‘‘main street” layout that Frederick County Public Schools has been using since it built Tuscarora High School. This design provides access to the main administration offices, cafeteria, auditorium and gymnasium, much like a main street in a town would allow access to public gathering places and government offices, she said.

‘‘It’s a gathering place and focal point,” she said.

The main street design also enhances security because it allows classroom areas to be closed off from the main hallway when public functions occur at the school, Groth said.

Security is also enhanced because visitors have to come through the main office to enter the school, which is a feature that has been incorporated into the renovations to New Market Elementary School.

Oakdale’s stadium uses artificial turf made from recycled tires. Groth said that when she was walking on the artificial turf, she found it hard to believe she wasn’t walking on real soil and grass. The turf is intended to stand up to multiple sports during the school year and Groth said she liked the opportunity to use recycled materials to make it. ‘‘It’s always nice to find something you can reuse,” she said.

The auditorium will also enable the school to better serve as a focal point for community activities, which is something the school board had hoped to achieve. The backstage has a lot of space to store props and sets, she said.

The school also has offices for all teachers, so that they will not be tied to one room. Teachers will have all their files and computer access in their office pods, which Groth said were larger than typical ‘‘cubicles” in business offices. This frees up the classrooms in the school so that they are always in use, even during teachers’ planning periods. ‘‘It’s like a college set up,” she said.

When the newly reconstructed Linganore High School opens – scheduled for 2010 - it will have an almost identical floor plan to Oakdale, according to Groth.

Fritz said administrative staff will enter the building and begin work as soon as the school has a use and occupancy permit. School system spokeswoman Marita Loose said staff is scheduled to begin work Aug. 12; and teachers will start Aug. 18.

Groth said she was also impressed with Principal Marge Lyburn, who will lead Oakdale High. She has been involved with the design and construction of Oakdale, ensuring that it will offer the same programs Linganore did.

Lyburn was unavailable for comment this week.