Harlem School District leaders and local dignitaries dig their shovels in Monday, April 17, 2023, for a ceremonial groundbreaking on an addition to Harlem High School. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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MACHESNEY PARK — Harlem High School broke ground on Monday on an expansion designed to give students better access to the type of hands-on experiences and education that prepares them for future careers.

The 27,000-square-foot career and technical education addition will be home for automotive and construction classes, a welding lab, manufacturing and health care education, culinary arts, technology classes and other learning spaces.

“It’s an investment in our kids. It’s an investment in our community. This is an investment for our future,” said Michael Sterling, president of the Harlem School District board of education. “This building is going to be bringing up the future generation of trades, manufacturing, automotive.”

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The addition will allow the district to resurrect its defunct construction program, in which students helped build homes in the area before the program was halted.

The roughly $17.5 million project also includes an on-site health clinic for district staff and their dependents. That clinic will provide preventative care that school officials hope will reduce health care costs and lower rates of absenteeism.

This rendering from DLA Architects shows plans for automotive repair bays inside a roughly 27,000-square-foot career and technical education expansion to Harlem High School. (Image provided by Harlem School District)

As part of the project, the district will also renovate about 11,000 square feet of the high school to revamp the culinary class space and renovate the child care area.

“It gives our kids opportunities and options more so than we really had before,” Superintendent Terrell Yarbrough said. “With the possibilities to connect via internships, this might just motivate our outstanding students to keep their talents in The Parks where it belongs.”

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Construction is funded in part by $5 million from the American Rescue Plan, the federal coronavirus stimulus package that included relief funds for schools across the nation. The district will also take on debt through bond sales and spend about $1 million from its fund balance, as well as take private donations to pay for the project.

Harlem School District Superintendent Terrell Yarbrough speaks Monday, April 17, 2023, at a groundbreaking ceremony for an expansion to Harlem High School. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

The bond sales are expected to extend the district’s debt payments by about five years, but it’s not expected to increase the property tax levy.

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The district had planned to break ground on the project as soon as the weather turned warm, but after a week that saw temperatures in the 80s the ceremony was held as light snow flurries spun through the air.

“There’s way too much excitement and enthusiasm for a little cold weather to dampen this historic event,” Harlem Principal Jeremy Bois said.

Construction is expected to take roughly 18 months with the facility planned to be open for the 2024 school year.

“It took a community effort to get this done,” Yarbrough said. “From our board members to our teachers to community businesses. It took everyone to see this project to fruition.”

Harlem School Board President Michael Sterling speaks Monday, April 17, 2023, at a groundbreaking ceremony for an expansion to Harlem High School. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas

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