For nearly a year we have been calling the new building on the west side of campus the CTE building. The school recently announced that the building will actually be part of the F-building, and will house rooms numbered in the 300s and 400s.

The building will house several classes including culinary, marketing, fashion, graphic design, chemistry and computers.

Principal Dan Serrano claims that the building was in the making far before the building began. “I’ve been talking to the superintendent for a couple of years,” he says.

With Perry’s rapidly growing population, Serrano believes a new building was essential. “Next year I don’t know that we would’ve been able to function properly,” he states. Serrano adds that the possibility of a new building was never thought of in Perry’s early years, “When we opened, 2800 was the capacity. We never even thought we would get there.”

The new building offers larger classrooms for chemistry, marketing, and specifically, culinary. There will be two classroom designated for culinary, equipped with new sinks, stoves, refrigerators and other utilities, including vents, easily identifiable from the student parking lot.

Culinary has been previously limited, as they currently share the kitchen with the cafeteria staff. Admin Assistant Donna Murdock believes the new space will benefit culinary, explaining, “They have to share it with the kitchen so this way they have their own rooms, and two of them.”

The marketing class will also be able to expand with new space. “The marketing class is going to have a store,” reveals Murdock. “Students can come in, there will be a nice glass case,… and they can purchase items.”

“October 7 is when teacher will start moving in,” The building’s Project Superintendent, Ti Morse, states.  According to him, due to construction’s “very aggressive schedule, Saturdays, six days a week, [and] working nights,” building construction will be completed within five months.

“35,000 square feet, we have 14 classrooms here,” says Murdock concerning building size. She believes the new space will also require a new sense of responsibility, “Now we need more security, [and] we need more custodial because we just got another 35,000 feet, so we’ve got to maintain that.

The building will offer a larger space for several different classes, which many believe will help the programs grow. Students can expect a larger environment for learning upon returning from fall break.