Bryan City Schools has been awarded $2.5 million by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to add new facility space for a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) and Innovation Center at Bryan Middle and High School.

The facility addition will allow BCS to place an emphasis on the vocational arts, including curriculums that teach the foundational skills of design and production with woods and metals, while also adding classes that focus on engineering, precision machining, computer aided design (CAD), electrical, plumbing, and robotics. 

BCS continues to work with Beilharz Architects on the design and build process. A tentative ground breaking date is set for Spring of 2025, with an anticipated completion in the Spring/Summer of 2026, which will allow these courses to open to students during the 2026-2027 school year.

In an effort to address gym space needs and indoor athletic training opportunities for our student-athletes, Bryan Schools is including the addition of an auxiliary gym and weight room in part with the construction project that will be underway for the STEM and Innovation Center.

The auxiliary gym will help to serve Junior High athletic events, but will also serve as a space to help accommodate the many athletic events, contests, practices, and training at the Middle and High School levels, as well as the many youth programs in the community that feed into Bryan Schools athletics.

The weight room facility will also be attached to the gymnasium expansion, allowing for the daily weights and conditioning classes to remain in the building, while also opening the current space of our existing weight room for other opportunities. 

A blend of Permanent Improvement funds and General funds will be utilized to support this gymnasium and weight room capital improvement project, totaling an anticipated cost of $3.0 - $3.5 million.

BCS continues to execute a Brownfield Remediation Grant in an effort to initiate a revitalization and rejuvenation process of the district's Central Building, known on the performing arts side as the Arts and Education Center. 

Bryan's pride and tradition in the Arts is strong, and has been built upon the outstanding work and talented showcases by so many outstanding individuals, casts, ensembles, full choirs, orchestras, bands, artists, directors, teachers, community members, and more. In an effort to continue the excellence, BCS is aiming to navigate a 2 phase process with the Central building. 

In just a few short months BCS will be revealing revitalization visions, plans, and renderings of what the enhancement process could look like. However, until then, please review the phased plan approach to the process.

Phase 1: 

Plan:

Apply for, review and evaluate, and pursue a demolition permit for the "south half" only of the Central Building. This will allow the auditorium and stage to be saved for renovation purposes.

The "south half" of the facility has provided limited use to BCS since 1987, when the attached 1903 original build of Bryan High School was razed. Since 1987 the "south half" of the facility has been sparingly used to serve a grade level at a time in the late 80's and early 90's, while also providing limited use for special education services, some arts programming, and the district's preschool program. One of the more recent uses of the classrooms was from 2007-2020 as the 2nd and 3rd floors were rented by Fountain City Christian School. 

However, since the closure of FCCS in 2020, the classroom side of the Central building has sat vacant, and has proven to provide costly maintenance challenges with the aging infrastructure. 

Included in the "south half" is the Central building gymnasium. This gymnasium space is heavily utilized for events held in the auditorium, more specifically for event preparation, including set building and back stage rehearsals, dressing, and gathering. If the gymnasium, and the storage space in the basement below, become included in any demolition plans the district will immediately address the high priority needs that space serves through a facility expansion project.