Students, staff and parents in Lexington attended a year-end ceremony showing how far the school district has come — and to see a little of what the future holds.
The district on Friday held a walkthrough down the halls for graduating seniors; a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics [STEAM] addition; and a time capsule dedication to be left unopened until homecoming in 2050.
All K-12 students and faculty as well as some parents were present. Friday was also the last day with seniors in classes, with the rest of the school’s last day being Wednesday.
STEAM addition
Once the COVID-19 pandemic began to ease up a few years ago, the school district began to take a look at addressing facilities needs.
“We had community members come in and we did different groups that we brought in, walked through the building,” said Jamie Farrell, secretary of the Lexington school board. “So we did business owners, we did community members, teachers and students, and each one was a separate group, and we walked them through the school and just got their perspective on the things that they thought were important to have in school, and the upgrades that we needed.”
The result was a new STEAM addition with agriculture, industrial technology and visual arts classrooms. A new junior high science classroom and lab was also added.
The project was funded using $10.5 million in bonds and another $4 million from district reserves.
The industrial arts and art upgrades became new additions rather than renovations of existing spaces because of the age of the facilities. Superintendent Paul Deters said the spaces dated back to the 1950s and 1960s.
“We built this addition with the idea that in 30 years we weren't sure what education might look like. And so the keyword of ‘being flexible’ was used quite often in our conversations,” said Deters.
Emma Long-Ingram, a K-12 art educator in Lexington who studied at Illinois State, said the new space for the art program has brand-new tables, chairs, storage and supplies.
Previously art classes were in the basement, but upstairs students can utilize natural light to make art. A garage door can be opened for ventilation. There is more storage for art supplies and seating that works for students of all ages. A space for darkroom photography and another for a kiln was also added.
“As an art educator, it's been life changing,” said Long-Ingram. “I think just my overall approach to teaching is so much more streamlined now I have so much more practical organization. I'm able to manage classroom behaviors and output so much differently in this space. I think for my students, it's opening up possibilities that we just didn't have before.”
Long-Ingram added she thought it was “amazing” that the school district wanted to invest in fine arts programming, especially music and visual arts.
“I think that says a lot about our community, and about the Lexington community and the way that they value art,” Long-Ingram said.
The industrial arts facility comes with ample space to move around and concrete floors to make messes easier to clean up. A new band and choir classroom adds space for a music program Deters said has doubled in size over the past decade. A new gym that seats 600 will be completed in the coming weeks to end the practice of using one space for both gym and cafeteria needs throughout the school day.
“It's really a struggle in our small district to get students physical education classes, to have indoor recess during winter months and those things,” added Deters. “So this really frees up the flexibility of our schedule to make sure that our kids can remain active and involved in those classes.”
The junior high science lab was also renovated to make for one “gigantic” science lab for all of junior high, rather than two separate ones.
'Not just a school'
The Friday event served as a reminder to many that the district almost did not survive financial struggles a decade ago.
District revenue was only $5.9 million in 2014, but numbers increased steadily every year since then with an exception of 2020. In 2023, the most recent year with data available, revenue totaled $9.3 million. Expenditures were higher that year than in any year since 2014, but still below revenues at $8.6 million.
“There were some things that were out of our control a decade ago that made things here at school within the district a challenge financially,” said Deters, who was not superintendent at the time.
Jason Thomas, president of the Lexington school board, said the town passed a referendum for a 50-cent tax increase over four years to help the district get out of debt.
“The community committed to us for those four years to give us that money so we could right the ship and then start building a plan to be better financially and then be able to do things like we've done today for our children," Thomas said.
The event gave community members the chance to celebrate that the district ultimately survived the financial struggle.
“It's very emotional. Born and raised in Lexington, I've lived here my entire life. I raised my kids here to be able to attend our school, and 10 years ago, I wasn't sure if my kids would graduate from Lexington,” said Farrell, from the school board. Her children ultimately did graduate in 2015 and 2018.
“So to see where we are, and to see the generations of families that have graduated through Lexington being here to support us is huge. It's not just a school. It's our home.”
Time capsule and grad walk
All classes from kindergarten through seniors chose a memento to put in a time capsule — set to remain unopened until homecoming 2050 — to represent their grade.
“We didn't have to do it, but we decided to do it. I just did it because it sounds fun,” said fifth-grader Devin O’Grady.
Juniors chose to leave behind a memento from their time at prom, eighth-graders a photo from their field trip to the Chicago Science and Industry Museum. Fourth-graders left a recorder from their music class. Fifth-graders left info on small businesses in the community and sports teams.
The ceremony also included a grad walk for seniors to be celebrated by the rest of the school.
“I think it's great because you're getting recognized for doing 12 years of school and just being able to reward these people for that. So I really think it's a great opportunity to see them — especially to walk down the hallways,” said junior Cassie Baker. Baker currently plans to attend Illinois Wesleyan after graduation.
