Lee County High School cuts the ribbon on its new multipurpose building
New 43,000-square-foot facility will house athletics and new academic classrooms
By Terry Lewis
LEESBURG — Three years ago, the Lee County School System broke ground on a new 43,000-square-foot, $8 million multipurpose facility for its athletes and new classroom space.
Sunday afternoon the long wait to see that facility become a reality ended, as Lee County School Superintendent Jason Miller and Lee Principal Karen Hancock cut the ribbon officially opening the new multipurpose facility.
“I want to thank the voters of Lee County for making today possible,” Lee School Board Chairman Frank Griffin said. “This facility is where athletics and academics meet for the betterment of the community.”
On the first floor of the modern facility, the building features a weight room with new equipment and a small practice field, complete with artificial turf, a spacious cheer room that will also be used by the volleyball and NJROTC rifle teams, and a state-of-the-art locker room for the football team.
On the second floor, there are forensic science and computer labs, several additional classrooms and a college-style lecture hall.
“I think this facility will be cherished by our community and was well worth the wait,” Hancock said.
The immediate beneficiary of the new building is the Lee County football team. Head coach Dean Fabrizio said he was pleased with the new digs.
“We had really outgrown those (old) facilities,” Frabrizio told The Herald. “When they were built, Lee County was a much, much smaller school system, and obviously when you talk about the locker room facilities, it was a much, much smaller football program.
“We’ve been in a locker room built for maybe 50 kids, and we’ve got 130-plus on our varsity and another 60 freshmen out in the portable (addition) with no bathroom facilities. So being able to move into this facility that’s able to house all our players with space has been great.”
But the building is designed for more than athletics.
“Our (old) building was built over two decades ago, so when you think about the infrastructure and the classroom size and students and where our society has moved to over the last 20 years, this building provides the opportunity for students to explore what’s really happening in society,” Hancock said.
The lecture hall, for example, allows space for dual enrollment students taking high school and college courses to gather on campus. Lee County has more than 200 dual-enrollment students, and the lecture hall will be able to accommodate up to a 50-student class.
Even with the impressive new addition unveiled Sunday, the county’s school system is not yet done with growth. Late last month, the School Board approved allowing bids for a new track at Trojan Field and the construction of eight new lighted tennis courts that will be located adjacent to the Board of Education building.
LCSS Financial Director Gary Kelley said work on the new track would come with a price tag of $1.972 million, and the new tennis courts would cost $1.82 million. Both of the projects will be funded using SPLOST money.
Chauntel Powell contributed to this story.
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