Article written by Brenna R. Kelly • Apr. 7, 2013 for The Alexandria Recorder -
Bishop Brossart expansion under way
Written by Brenna R. Kelly • Apr. 7, 2013
ALEXANDRIA — The large hole in
the ground that will greet Bishop Brossart High School students when they
return from spring break today is more than a hole – it’s proof that a
long-awaited expansion of the Catholic high school is a reality.
The $7.5 million expansion will
include a chapel, a 425-seat auditorium, library, fine arts studio, music room
and other upgrades.
“It basically fills in a lot of
the things we’ve been missing,” said Richard Stewart, principal of the
359-student school.
The school, one of two Catholic
high schools in Campbell County, has been planning to expand since the
mid-1990s, he said. But plans were delayed by a moratorium on building in the
county and among other things.
“There were just a lot of things
along the way that got in the way of the school being able to move forward,” he
said.
When Stewart became principal
four years ago, he was tasked with making the expansion happen.
The school already had $3 million
in place, it then began appealing to alumni and other supporters.
The school now has just under $8
million in cash and pledges, said Roger Keller, a fund-raising committee
co-chairman and 1965 graduate.
“The community has really responded
to the needs of Bishop Brossart High School,” he said. “And I’m talking about
the normal working person.”
Keller credits Stewart with
energizing the Brossart community.
“He has really electrified the
community and school to inspire us and say ‘hey, come on,’” he said. “It’s been
a great journey here. ”
Crews began excavating the site
of the addition about two weeks ago. Today the school will hold a ceremonial
ground breaking with Bishop Roger Foys and Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford
scheduled to attend.
The project will take 12 to 14
months to complete. It is expected to be open by the 2014-15 school year.
For the first time the school
will have a chapel where the classes will attend a weekly mass.
But because the chapel will only
seat about 125 people, students will still have to walk to St. Mary’s Church –
10 minutes away – for monthly all-school masses, Stewart said.
The new auditorium will be able
to hold all-school assemblies and school plays which are now held in the gym,
he said.
There will also be new restroom
facilities, new faculty rooms, a college counseling center and new
administrative offices.
The school’s offices are now in a
space that was designed for two classrooms.
Once the offices move, the school
will be able to turn the area back into classroom space, he said.
While enrollment has held steady
at around 350 students for several years, the expansion will position the
school for growth, Stewart said.
The school serves the parishes of
St. John, St. Joseph (Camp Springs), St. Joseph (Cold Spring), Sts. Peter and
Paul, St. Philip and St. Mary.
Many expected a population boom
in southern Campbell County starting in 2007 when a 11-year development
moratorium was lifted after a new sewer plant opened.
But the boom went bust.
“Unfortunately, as soon as the
moratorium was lifted was pretty much when the economy tanked,” Stewart said.
As the economy picks back up, the
population growth that had been predicted in the southern end of the county may
become reality.
“One of things, we’re really
looking forward to is being in a position where we can take advantage of that,”
Stewart said. “We have all the new facilities in place, and we can jump into
that with both feet.”
Future plans include a sports
complex off-campus on Gilbert Ridge Road.
The school used about $70,000
from the expansion project to grade two football and soccer practice fields at
the site.
The bright future of the school
is something Keller, whose grandson will start at Brossart next year, is happy
to see.
“It’s always the stigma out there
that Bishop Brossart is a country school,” he said.
“It really isn’t. It’s a lot more
than that, people don‘t really understand what it is. The unique thing about
Brossart is it’s not too big, people really get to be friends and you keep
them.”
