Last year, the District predicted construction on FHN to start this past summer; while it is has yet to start, definite plans are currently in the works.

According to District Superintendent Renee Schuster, North is but one of three projects on the district’s mind right now, with a fourth – unnamed – project to be possibly added at a later date if bids continue to come in as they are now.

Daniel Boone Elementary School will receive a new cafeteria, set of restrooms and a renovated library in addition to other things. Howell will gradually be torn down in almost its entirety, keeping its gym, auditorium, and band room among just a few others. It will receive a turf field as a result; with the original field torn down during construction, it was discovered that transportation to alternate fields for all sports for the year would cost approximately half the price of an artificial field. The investment was then made and the field is expected to be ready near the end of September
just in time, Schuster hopes, for their homecoming game.

Four science lab rooms, one regular classroom, and a new set of restrooms await North, with construction expected to begin no sooner than spring 2010. The District is currently working with local police and fire departments to get building plans approved. The science rooms will consist of three intended primarily for Chemistry and one for AP Biology.

“The labs we have now have an inadequate amount of space,” Biology teacher Laura Montgomery
said. “They’re designed for a maximum of 24 people.”

Size alone is not the issue. North presently struggles to simply find a home for all of its science teachers. Even though one of last year’s art rooms was transformed into a science class room, Science Department Chair Steve Kelly still must wheel his “classroom” around on a cart, going from room to room for any given class period due to a lack of space.

“We’ve needed this for so long,” Assistant Principal Nancy Wade said. “It is something we knew was really important for our science program. It’s amazing how well our kids do in science. Our teachers are really a hands-on group.”

Apparently “hands-on” is the perfect way to teach; according to Wade, North scored the highest among Saint Charles County high schools in science on the End of Course exams and landed in the 98th percentile of all MO high schools that took it.

“I’m so excited about the learning environment we’re going to be able to create at these three schools with this bond issue,” Schuster said. “We can’t do anything else until we know we’ve taken care of North, Daniel Boone, and Howell.”