Fundraising for the second phase of the Capital Campaign, which aims to improve the academic wing has begun, according to President and Interim Principal Richard O’Hara.  

Money will be raised to remodel the classrooms and the overall academic wing. While the construction hasn’t started yet, fundraising is underway in order to obtain the funds needed to begin.

This phase will span almost two years with hopes of raising $7 million. The school looks to hire a professional council to help administrators run the Capital Campaign.

While the school has not allocated where all of the funds will go, administrators hope to remodel “everything from the air conditioning…the furniture, new flooring, drop ceilings, energy efficient lighting, whiteboards, new science labs, [and] new restrooms,” O’Hara said.

The Capital Campaign has been in the works for about nine years. The first phase, known as “Lighting the Way,” focused on changes to the overall school facilities.

This phase of the campaign is completed, according to O’Hara. This phase included “the [remodeling of] the foyer, the restrooms, the air conditioning of the cafe, and the theater, and then the turf fields,” O’Hara said.  

Planning for the second phase started over the summer when O’Hara sent an email to members of the JC community informing them of the upcoming phase in the Capital Campaign. The email also included a survey which asked members of the community what they felt needed to be improved.

Survey results showed that the community felt that renovating the academic wing was the highest priority.

“[The Board of Trustees] reviewed the full campaign feasibility and planning study report, which included the results of this survey along with many personal interviews,” O’Hara said.

The Board of Trustees approved the next phase of the campaign. According to O’Hara, the goal is to “create an extraordinary teaching and learning environment, preparing students for success in life and the new world economy.”

Senior Caity McComas is glad that there are changes being made to the academic wing. “I think there are important things they need to do for the academic wing like air conditioning, but there are also remodels that need to be done like the bathrooms, clocks, and better Wi-Fi,” McComas said.

There is no definite time schedule for the remodeling process, however, O’Hara predicts approximately two years are needed to make the renovations. The time of the renovations will be dictated by the donors and the amount of work that can be completed over the summer.