This fall, ground on the west side of De Soto High School was broken, beginning Phase 2 of a three-phase expansion of DHS.

The 45,000-square foot project includes a new gym that can seat over 2,000, a new athletic area entrance with a new concession stand and ticket booths, a teachers and coaches workroom, a new training room, and new weight and wrestling rooms. Also included is a health classroom, a multi-purpose room, a Lifetime Fitness room and a fine arts flex room. In addition to the new space, there will be several renovations to existing spaces.

The renovations will include new sound and lighting systems in the gym, a refinishing and painting of the existing gym floor, an expansion of the locker rooms complete with new lockers, an officials dressing room, new lighting and sound systems in the theater, as well as aluminum stage extensions to replace the wooden platforms that are currently in place.

Voters approved the money for the expansion in November of 2008. This expansion is expected to cost about $8.4 million after a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA is reimbursing the school $850,000 to use materials in a part of the expansion that would make it a FEMA- approved storm shelter for the school.

Even though the project includes lots of new spaces, the main component of the expansion is the new competition sized gym.

“Along with the increase in physical education classroom space, the gym will also allow for an increased use for activities, for example when you have Sub-State wrestling, 5A invites eight teams, and 4A invites 16 teams because there are more teams in 4A, so … a smaller school needs the larger gym because you have more teams, so it will allow us to hold things that we haven’t held for a long time. We haven’t held Sub-State basketball since this building first opened,” DHS principal David Morford said.

While the expansions and renovations are expected to take about 14 months and be complete in either December of 2012 or February of 2013 depending on weather and progress, when completed, the project will give DHS the much needed space as the incoming class sizes continue to increase.