CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -
It's more than 40 years old and a face lift may be in its future.
Northwest High School in Clarksville opened its doors in 1970 and since then, there has only been one upgrade.
A $16 million proposal would give the aging school some much needed upgrades and improvements.
"My mom went to this school and she said it looks exactly the same," said Mariah Merejo, a tenth grader at the high school, "She can point out all the spots where she's been, so I think it's time for a renovation."
Viking Pride is proudly displayed all over the school, but decades worth of history has taken a toll on the building.
There are exposed wires tacked to the ceilings to accommodate new technology that wasn't around in the 1970s and parts of the popcorn ceiling have had to be patched.
"It looks ugly," said Jim Sumrell, Chief of Operations for Montgomery Schools, pointing up at the ceiling of the school's theater.
"It's old and it's stained," he added, "The renovations will allow for this space to become a lecture hall."
The school's original theater is now too small to fit an entire grade level.
"The existing portion of the building, the 1970s portion of the school, will get a nice general renovation, clean up, paint up and fix up," said Sumrell.
The real meat of the $16.1 million project is in building an auxiliary gym, a new theater and connecting parts of the school that are separated from each other.
Sumrell pointed out, "The building as it's currently set up, forces the student in and out of the secure environment."
The school will be connected and the front entrance will usher visitors into a secure office where people will have to sign in.
Right now, once visitors enter the school, they have to walk to the front office down the hallway.
The renovations also allow for a commercial kitchen to be added for the some 1,000 students who attend Northwest High School
But maybe the biggest benefit of these proposed renovations is something construction crews won't have to build.
Director of Montgomery Schools, B.J. Worthington put it this way, "Northwest is known for its pride," adding, "I think that's real important for the students here. They have a great facility, but we want to make it even better for them."
Worthington also told Nashville's News 2, "We want to allow them to have the same opportunities that other schools in our district have and this project will accommodate that."
The Montgomery County Commission will vote on the proposed renovations September 10.
Sumrell said if approved, work on the two and a half to three year project could start as soon as October, but added most of the heavy construction would happen during summer break.
