BUILDING A BETTER BAYLESS: Elevating the student &

Community experience

Over the past two years, the Bayless campus has been transformed with the new Junior High School addition. While that is the most obvious of the changes, many other upgrades and improvements are occurring district-wide. This summer, Bayless High School is receiving new flooring throughout common areas like hallways and cafeteria spaces. The focus of this project is the removal of the original flooring from the late 1950s and 1960s.

In addition to flooring, several new spaces are being created to meet the needs of our students and families. Renovations to old restrooms continue in the original Junior High building. Bayless is on target to complete a new functional classroom for students learning life and functional living skills needed to be successful adults. A newcomer center will be opened on campus to assist in welcoming and transitioning new students to our schools. The High School library will also receive a long-overdue renovation. Finally, new flooring and instrument cabinetry will welcome our High School band students back to school.

Two very noticeable exterior improvements on campus will be new pavement and a new turf for Bayless Field. With the tremendous amount of construction at the High School and Junior High over the past two years, the pavement has taken a beating. The new surface will be a welcome improvement for our staff, students and visitors to campus. We are also replacing the turf on Bayless Field nearly a decade of service on the original turf.

These improvements are made possible by the tremendous support of our community, and in some cases, excellent insurance coverage offered to public schools. Bayless High School has suffered three separate flooding losses since August of 2022. Just as many Bayless residents experienced, the worst flooding was on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2023. Our High School cafeteria, gymnasium and several rooms were flooded and required remediation. Much of the flooring requires replacement as a result of the flood. During that event, the force and quantity of water that flooded Bayless Field damaged the rock base of the field and created unevenness on the surface. Our insurance provider is funding repair of the flood damaged areas, including Bayless Field.