PRINCE OFFERS INSIGHT ABOUT ONGOING CAFETERIA CONSTRUCTION

By SARAH HARLESS
B-Town Rundown Staff Reporter

BARTLETT HIGH SCHOOL ─ There’s been a lot of talk about the construction that's been going on in the yellow and green cafeterias. Bartlett Principal Sean Prince said things are really changing in the two former lunch rooms, and he’s optimistic that both new spaces will benefit Bartlett.

Prince said they would be making one of the cafeterias into more classrooms for further education for the Life Skills students, and the other lunch room would be more of a cafe/lounge area. He mentioned the idea of comfy couches, chairs and possibly a little cafe. There’s also been talk of renovating the kitchen in yellow cafeteria into office space.

Administration has been wanting to renovate both cafeterias for a while since the addition of the bigger, better Tanya Taylor-Winchester Cafeteria in 2018. This left the yellow and green hall spots unused as lunch rooms. Administration was going to hold off on doing any construction for a couple of years for multiple reasons, but the November 2018 earthquake pushed them to start construction on the yellow and green cafeterias sooner than planned. 

There have already been many difficulties during the process of renovating. The cold January weather made it difficult to stay on track with the construction. There were busted heaters, which made the pipes burst, and they also had to remove some chunks of concrete in the walls to repair them. The lunch rooms needed many new adjustments to the space, such as new lights, new walls, new ceilings and new windows. 

Without any more unforeseen obstacles, Prince said construction is expected to last a couple more years.